


Naruto: Rise of the Jinchuuriki

by RainingJustice (orphan_account)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, F/M, Jinchuuriki-centric, M/M, No God!Naruto, No Harem
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-12-04 12:37:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 70,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11555358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/RainingJustice
Summary: Naruto, Gaara, and Fu had always been outsiders, whether it be feared and hated or respected and loved. But by a twist of fate, a chance of a lifetime brings them together not only to teach them the way of the shinobi, but also to teach them about themselves. Unfortunately, fate can also be very cruel.





	1. A New World

**Author's Note:**

> This story was actually written years ago by an author on Fanfiction named Zero the Leech, but he never finished it, which I thought was very sad because it had an interesting concept. So after PMing him and waiting two weeks for a reply, he gave me permission to use the idea for myself. Sadly, he could only recover nine of the original chapters. I'm polished up the chapters and changed a number of scenes and this is the result. I hope that wherever he is, Zero will be proud of this work.

Naruto Uzamaki felt like he was on top of the world. Though it was a roundabout way that started with a lie, it ended with him finally accomplishing his goal. Finally, he was a real shinobi with his own headband (well, technically it was Iruka-Sensei’s, but he wasn’t gonna get worked up over the details).  He couldn’t stop grinning as he sat at his former desk, swinging his legs eagerly for orientation to start.

That was when one of his only friends (okay, more like acquaintances) came down the steps, yawning into his hand like he always did. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a blonde-haired boy in a gaudy orange jumpsuit sitting in front of his own desk. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t still asleep, but Naruto was still there.

“Naruto, what’re you doing here?” he asked. “Drop outs can’t be here. Orientation is for graduates only.”

“Take a look at more forehead, genius,” Naruto scowled, pointing to his headband. “I’m a fully-fledged shinobi now!”

“Eh?” said Shikamaru in a disbelieving voice.

Before Shikamaru could name the many ways it was impossible for someone like Naruto to graduate, everyone in the classroom when they heard the all-too-familiar thundering of footsteps rushing down the hallways outside. No one was surprised when the door burst open and Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno practically steamrolled inside, sweating and panting from an unnecessary exertion of energy.

“I win again, Sakura,” Ino wheezed with a smug grin.

“Haw! You wish,” Sakura retorted. “My toe was at least a tenth of an inch ahead of yours.”

Shikamaru sighed with his usual comment (“What a drag.”) and took his seat while the two girls got into an argument about whose toe passed the goal first. No one seemed to pay them any mind; they were accustomed to seeing the former friends bicker at least four times a day. However, Naruto was completely entranced by the image of Sakura; he could actually hear harps playing in the background of his mind.

 _'Sakura-chan is so pretty._ ’ Naruto thought with stupid grin. _‘I hope I end up on a team with her.’_ And as if somehow able to sense his thoughts, Sakura stopped bickering with Ino and turned in Naruto’s direction, suddenly lighting up with glee. _'She's smiling at me!'_

Sakura paced down the steps, leaving Ino bewildered behind her. She stopped at Naruto’s row and said a quick, “Good morning!”

"Hey, Sakura, how's it goi-"

"Move it loser!" growled Sakura before she promptly shoved him to the floor. “Hey, Sasuke-kun, do you mind if I sit here?"

Naruto growled under his breath. Of course she went straight for Sasuke Uchiha, who had been sitting in the seat next to his. Naruto just couldn’t see what was so great about him. I mean, yeah, he’s the top of the class, has awesome hair, he’s from a rich and powerful clan, had this cool loner vibe, and was perfect in almost every way. But if you take away all that, what do you got…. Naruto was almost afraid to answer that.

"Hey, back off, forehead, I was here first!" Ino scowled, marching down the steps.

"Well, I was here before any of you!" Another girl suddenly joined the debate.

"No, I deserve to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"No way, I do!"

"No, me!"

And like every other day, an argument broke out over who would have the honor of sitting next to Sasuke. The object of their affections only sighed in irritation, closing his eyes and resting his head against his folded hands. Suddenly, he heard someone jump on his desk and found Naruto glaring at him, their faces only inches from each other.

“Can I help you with something, loser?” said Sasuke, his voice dripping with annoyance as he glared back.

This was another thing that the class had become accustomed to. Even though Sasuke was the top of the class and could easily out do Naruto in pretty much anything, he seemed to treat the blonde boy with even more animosity than anyone else. Some would even call them rivals if it wasn’t for the fact that Naruto had zero talent for anything.

As the two become like in a duel of wills, Sakura and the other fangirls became aware of what was happening and directed all their bloodlust towards Naruto.

"Naruto, you idiot! What are you doing to Sasuke-kun?" roared Sakura.

"If you touch one hair on his head, I'll kill you!" snarled Ino.

"C'mon, Sasuke-kun, kick his ass!" another girl screamed as the rest of Sasuke’s fans called for Naruto’s head on a platter.

Naruto looked shocked how easily the girls turned on him for just look at Sasuke, but at this point, he shouldn’t be surprised. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke – always about Sasuke! Naruto sincerely wished the worst thing in the world would happen to him right now!

"Hey, this is great, right?" said a boy in front when he accidentally knocked his elbow into Naruto’s back. “Oh, sorry about tha – “

The boy’s voice got lost in his throat when he looked back; everyone stood around in stunned silence; Sakura and the other fangirls looked like they were witnessing true terror for the first time. Even Shikamaru was wide awake for the first time in forever when he looked down upon the scene that had captivated so many people:

Naruto…kissing Sasuke…directly on the lips….

‘ _NO!_ ’ Sakura screamed in her thoughts. ‘ _I was supposed to be Sasuke-kun’s first kiss!_

‘ ** _SHANNARO!_** ’ Sakura’s second personality (Let’s call her Inner Sakura) screamed furiously. ‘ ** _That bastard! I’m gonna kill you, Naruto! SHANNARO!_** ’

Naruto and Sasuke’s brains shut down from the shock, but finally got their wits about them and started coughing dramatically, holding their throats like they had been poisonsed.

“BLARGH! My mouth I infected!” cried Naruto.

“I’m gonna kill you, Naruto!” wheezed Sasuke.

But Naruto stopped for a moment when he senses an overwhelming amount of killer intent directed towards him. He turned around slowly and saw, with great fear, the army of Sakura fangirls leering at him with unbridled fury; Sakura leading the pack as she cracked her knuckles furiously.

“Naruto…,” Sakura began in a deathly calm voice.

“I-It was an accident, I swear, Sakura-Chan!” Naruto stuttered frightfully.

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

“WAAAAAH!”

* * *

 

On the opposite side of the village, people had lined up all along the streets beginning from the village gates, leaning over one another as if expected to see a parade come by. It wasn’t a parade exactly, but it was definitely an occasion of great importance and was garnering attention quickly.

The massive wooden gates of the Hidden Leaf had opened and over a hundred people were stepping inside the village for the first time. There ranged from elderlies, to adults, to teenagers, and to children, but they all had one thing in common: they were all shinobi. Each and every one of them was wearing a metal plated forehead protector somewhere on their person, each one engraved with a different symbol representing their nation. It was rare to see at least one or two foreign ninjas in the village, but to see a hundred was certainly something to look at.

And one of these foreigners was already attracting a lot of unneeded attention, much to their superior’s exasperation.

The young girl – a kunoichi, as she keep reminding herself – jumped over the adoring crowd and climbed all the way to the top of the nearest powerline. Feeling the wind blowing through her short, choppy mint hair and the sunny on her coppery skin was so liberating; she wasn’t even disturbed by the heavy container she carried on her back. From there, she could see the entire village stretched out in front of her…it’s was actually really plain now that she saw it. And claustrophobic – why would people make so many buildings packed together like that? But the one thing that garnered her attention was the mountainside with which five faces were chiseled in the surface.

“Whoa, they really do carve their leader’s faces into the rock,” she saw in awe. “That’s gotta take forever to do. Hope they’re getting paid enough for it.”

“Princess Fu!” the girl looked down, spotting two frantic Waterfall Jonin waving her down. “Princess, hurry, we mustn’t be late!”

“Coming!” Fu shouted cheerfully.

As the Waterfall girl leapt down to join her guardians, another fledgling shinobi was watching her closely.

His eyes surrounded by black heavy circles and his hair the color of blood, the boy donned a forehead protector symbolizing his alliance to the Hidden sand on the strap that cross his chest, which was bound to a massive gourd nearly equal to himself in size. The symbol for love was stamped across the left lobe of his forehead, but his impassive expression as he watched the girl watch away showed anything but love.

The child from the Sand took a step forward, but was suddenly stopped when a Sand Jonin with half his face concealed by a thin cloth slapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Control yourself, Gaara,” said Sand Jonin. “Do not act irrationally this soon.”

“…Yes, Baki,” Gaara muttered softly, his eyes never leaving the girl.

“You understand how important this is for us,” said Baki. “For the sake of the Sand, please, keep yourself under control.

“…Yes, Baki,” said Gaara blankly.

* * *

 

When Iruka arrived in class an hour later, he was none too surprised to see Naruto battered and bruised flat across his desk. As much as he loved that boy, he was always doing something to get himself in trouble, usually with this being the end result. Iruka sighed, shook his head, brought up his clipboard, and spoke in a loud clear voice for everyone to hear:

“Congratulation, students. As of today, you are all official shinobi. But the road only gets tougher from here on out. You've come a long way, but in order to move forward, you need to take a more individual approach to your training. As such, we will be assigning all of you into groups of four, three genin and one jonin. Please listen closely for your names as we begin assigning teams.

As Iruka started listing out the names one-by-one, Naruto’s mind started to wander.

 _'I wonder what team I'll be on,”_ he thought _. ‘Anyone's fine as long as it's not Sasuke.'_

 _'I hope I get on Sasuke-kun's team,’_ Sakura thought anxiously

 ** _'I'd better get on Sasuke's team or there'll be hell to pay! Shannaro!'_** Inner Sakura screamed furiously

‘ _Come on, how long is this going to take,_ ’ thought Sasuke impatiently.

"Team Seven: Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame," called Iruka. “Your Jonin instructor will be Kurenai Yuhi. Team Eight: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chōji Akimichi. Your Jonin instructor will be Asuma Sarutobi – “

“NOOOO!” Ino cried in pure agony, slamming her head into the desk and openly sobbing.

“Geez, what a drag,” Shikamaru groaned.

Iruka rubbed the bridge of his nose irritably as he tried to regain control of his class. Ino wasn’t the first girl to be disappointed in their choice of team (mostly because it wasn’t with Sasuke), but she had thus far been the most vocal of them.He took a deep breath and pushed on, listing the names of the students and their instructors. After ten teams had been assigned, the only one’s left were Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. Realizing they were the last ones not to be pair up, Naruto openly whined at the prospect of having to work with Sasuke while Sakura looked ready to jump up and cheer. However, when Iruka had finished calling off the tenth team, Iruka tucked the clipboard under his arm and addressed them.

"All right,” said Iruka, clapping his hands. “Now that you have been assigned to your teams, you are to gather in your given room numbers to meet your jonin instructor. That is all for today."

"Excuse me, Iruka-sensei!” Sakura practically flew out of her seat, raising her hand in a panic. “You forgot me and Sasuke-kun!"

"Yeah! Me too!" yelled Naruto, not wanting to be forgotten.

"I was getting to that." said Iruka, staring at the trio blankly. “Will Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzamaki please follow me to classroom 8-C."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged curious looks, neither one seemed to understand why they had been singled out, but Sasuke took it in stride and slow walked down the steps with his hands in his pocket like a cool SOB. Iruka waited for them at the door and closed it behind them, leading the trio down the hall. Each of them wanted to ask the same question (What’s going on here?”), but none of them dared to say anything they took a left down another hall, then took a right, until they ended up in front of the sliding door bearing the sigh 8-C.

“You three going on inside,” said Iruka, gesturing them to enter. “The intrustors will be along to explain everything shortly. And please, try to be nice to our visitors.”

“Visitors?” Sakura repeated, confused. “What visitors?”

Rather than answering, Iruka smiled and slid the door open to let them inside. Once Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke stepped through, their jaws dropped in awe – even Sasuke.

Dozens of boys and girls around their age were scattered around the already cramped classroom, some sitting in chairs or desk, others being forced to sit on the floor and lean against the wall. But the Shinobi Academy had such a small student body that Naruto almost knew everybody in it, yet he could not identify a single person in this room. They were all wearing different clothes that you wouldn’t normally see in the Hidden Leaf with colors and styles he never could have imagined. Their skin tones varied up and down the spectrum and different shades of hair colors that made the room look like a giant rainbow. And while Naruto and Sakura were trying to get their wits about them, it was Sasuke who figured out where these people came from.

“They’re all from other villages,” he said, snapping Naruto and Sakura out of their stupor. “Look at their forehead protectors.”

They both did a double take and realized that he was right. Everyone present in the room was wearing a forehead protector that signified their allegiance to other villages outside of their own. Naruto didn’t understand a single emblem, but Sakura’s clever mind easily managed to pick out the marks of the Cloud, the Stone, the Rain – all nations that had gone to war with the Hidden Leaf over a decade ago. As far as she could tell, they were the only Leaf Shinobi in the room.

“All right, you three hand fun now,” said Iruka casually. “And like I said, please try to be nice. That goes especially for you, Naruto.”

“But, sensei – “ Sakura started.

But the teacher had already vanished in a puff of smoke. Gods, how they hated it when he did that.

Naurto, Sakura, and Sasuke faced the classroom again; no one seemed disturbed by the sudden inclusion of three new Leaf shinobi. The three of them looked at each other uncertainly and reluctantly marched further into the classroom. Sasuke found a nice secluded wall near the front and leaned against it with his arms cross. Almost like a magnet, a new swarm of girls caught sight of him and immediately flocked to his side. Sakuraq gritted her teeth and tried to push her way inside, but the swarm was too thick and she was rebuffed.

‘ _Those filthy hussies, smoozing up to my Sasuke-kun!_ ’ Sakura mentally growled.

Meanwhile, Fu sat crosslegged on a desk in the back of the classroom, giggling as she watched the pink-haired girl’s failed attempts to break through the seemingly impenetrable wall of fangirls. Gaara stood still as a statue in an isolated corner of the room, only sparing Sasuke a momentary glance. He could sense that the boy was powerful, but nothing for him to be concerned about.

As for Naruto.... Everyone looked up and around when a weird blonde kid in an awful orange attire suddenly stood on top of the front desk, fists on his waist and a wide grin on his face. A few brows were raised, others were snickering; Sakura looked to him in momentary dread and Sasuke only barely glance up from his space. Naruto took a deep breath and, jabbing his finger aimlessly into the crowd, shouted at the top of his lungs:

“All right, people, listen up!” he screamed, making a few of the people closest to him cover their ears. “My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I’m going to be the next Hokage! And that means I won’t lose to any of you!”

Several people appeared stunned by the blonde loudmouth’s random declaration; they couldn’t tell if he was being serious or making a joke. Whatever it was, he certainly made himself know to everyone.

‘ ** _Shannaro! That idiot just made an enemy out of everyone in the room!_** ’ Inner Sakura screamed.

‘ _I can’t tell if he’s brave or just that stupid…,_ ’ Sasuke thought exasperatedly.

“Ooh, he looks like fun,” said Fu, grinning and bouncing with excitement. “I bet we’d be awesome friends.”

“So loud…,” mumbled Gaara.

“Such a bold claim,” said a boy wrapped in bandages in the middle of the room. “This may be more interesting than I thought.”

“Uzumaki…,” a bespectacled girl mumbled, tucking a bright red hair behind her ear. “He said Uzumaki.”

Naruto grinned and chuckled, feeling immensely proud of himself…right up until the point where he felt a familiar set of knuckles bearing down on his skull, sending him face-first into the floor.

“What did I just say, Naruto?” came Iruka’s annoyed tone. “What did I _just_ say?”

Naruto moaned and sat up, rubbing the lump that was starting to form in his hair. He opened his mouth ready to snap back when he realized that Iruka didn’t come alone. Various Shinobi all ranking up to Jonin were standing side-by-side in the front of the classroom lined up at the chalkboard. Like the younger Shinobi, they were all from different villages and had different appearances ranging from a pale-skinned woman from the Sand to the mocha-skinned man from the Cloud. And in the center of this group of elite Shinobi was a man dressed in formal robes or red and white with one eye blinded by a blue cloth and the lower half of his face tucked away in secret.

Even those who had never seen him before knew of him: the son of the White Fang who rose in the ranks during the Third Shinobi World War, where he earned the name Copy Ninja before taking up the position of the fifth Hokage. It was Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi looked down at Naruto, who immediately shut his mouth and sat up straight once he realized the Hokage was standing right in front of him. Underneath his mask, Kakashi smiled. He looked like his father, but acted more like his mother. If only they could see their son now…. But he did not wish to dwell on the past. He had a job to do. He took a step forward from the Jonin and spoke in a loud voice.

“Welcome, welcome, okay, let’s all settle down now,” said Kakashi calmly. “Now, I understand many of you have a lot of questions. Most of you probably came here without your instructors telling you what’s going on. I’ll admit I asked them to do that. Did want to spoil the surprise right away. You kids are about to take part in a very special event.”

“Special event?” Naruto repeated, tilting his head.

“Ooh, this is getting exciting,” said Fu, never losing her smile.

“Hmm…,” Gaara hummed.

“So without further ado,” said Kakashi, waving his arms dramatically. “Welcome to the International Selection.”


	2. The International Selection

The classroom fell silent, all eyes on the row of Jonin from other nations standing behind the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, Kakashi Hatake.

His only visible eyes slowly shifted around the room, taking in every young shinobi present with thoughtful consideration. His eye fell on their forehead protectors, taking a quick count of all who were attending. Only nine villages had chosen to send a number of their genin: fourteen from the Hidden Cloud and eleven from the Hidden Stone – as to be expected from the largest military villages. eight were sent from the Hidden Mist and the Hidden Grass had sent an equal number, which was a bit of a surprise. The Hidden Rain sent six while his own Hidden Leaf provided four, and the Hidden Sand allowed two to join. The Hidden Waterfall and the recently established Hidden Star only sent one a piece, as to be expected from the smaller villages.

' _Overall, not a bad turnout,_ ' thought Kakashi, pleased. ' _When the Fourth Mizukage requested to restart the program, I never would have expected to be so successful. Looks like I owe him an apology. Although…_ '

His gaze subtly shifted to the back of the room where Gaara was standing in the corner away from everyone else, his eyes never once blinking as he took in what may as well have been his prey.

' _So that's Gaara of the Desert. I find it hard to believe that the Fourth Kazekage would just hand his son over to the program so easily. Given his record, I almost hesitate to let him join, but the Mizukage was adamant in bringing him in. Well, he knows better than I do._ '

He then turned his eyes on Fu, sitting on top of a desk cross-legged in the middle of a classroom, leaning back and forth with surprised excitement and a happy-go-lucky grin that wasn't faked like the one Naruto used to wear.

' _Fu Nagare of the Waterfall. It's strange to see how similar they are and yet they grew up so much differently. She may be a bright spot that people like Naruto needs._ '

And, naturally, his eye fell upon the orange-garbed genin sitting on the floor in front of him, gapping like a fish out of water. It was so strange…he looked so much like his father, yet he acted more like his mother. It was like they were both in here with him….

"Um, Lord Hokage," Kakashi snapped out of his reminiscing before he delved too far, and spared a sideways glance at Iruka. "Would you mind beginning the orientation, or should I…"

"No, no, that's all right, I'll take it from here," said Kakashi, waving the scarred man back and stepping around the front desk. As he moved closer, he noticed that several from the Cloud and Stone looked anxious; Kakashi was very much away of his reputation in their villages. "As I was saying before, I would like to welcome to the second year of the International Selection. Before we start, would anyone like to get their questions out of the way?"

It didn't surprise Kakashi that more than half the room shot their hands up as one. He supposed it was because of the classroom environment that made them act funny.

"Alright… Pinky, from the Hidden Leaf," said Kakashi, pointing out the brightly-haired girl.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, sir," said Sakura respectfully, though clearly not appreciative of the nickname. "I was just wondering…what is the International Selection?"

Almost immediately, all other hands quickly dropped to their sides; it seemed they all wanted to ask the same thing. Kakashi was none to surprised, given that they were purposely given a minimum of information before they left their villages. Even during this brief period of peace that followed the Third Shinobi World Ward, it was highly unusual for any shinobi to cross into foreign territory unless given special permission from the village leader or nation's Daimyo. It was especially unusually that the Leaf would let the Cloud and Stone into the village, given that they were enemies not too long ago.

Kakashi shot a meaningful glance in Iruka's direction. The scarred man caught the sign and immediately stepped forward while the Hokage stood back, letting the teacher take the attention.

"Excellent question, Sakura," said Iruka praisingly. "As some of you might be aware right now, most of our continent's nations are in a state of semi-peace. In an attempt to maintaining that peace, the International Selection was a pact drawn up by the majority of the continent's shinobi villages: Leaf, Mist, Stone, Cloud, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, and most recently, the Hidden Star Village. The hope was that this pact would prevent any further bloodshed between nations in the future. A little fun fact: The International Selection was actually first proposed by the Fourth Hokage shortly after the conclusion of the Third Shinobi World War."

"The Fourth Hokage?" said Naruto in awe.

A wave of murmurs passed through the classroom, many of the genin speaking in tones of admiration or animosity. Just like Kakashi, the Fourth Hokage was a man who gained prominence during the Third Shinobi World War as the man who single-handed defeated an entire legion of Stone soldiers single-handedly and the only man who ever outraced the Fourth Raikage. They called him the Leaf's Yellow Flash and he was widely regarded as the greatest Hokage since Hashirama Senju, even by Shinobi from other nations.

"All right, settle down, settle down!" Iruka shouted over the chatter, trying to stem the noise. "Back to the topic at hand, the Fourth Hokage proposed this pact shortly after his inauguration at the Kage Summit with the other leaders of the Five Great Nations. The idea was to create teams from multiple backgrounds as a way to strengthen the bonds between formerly warring nations and work towards a peaceful resolution."

"I bet grandpa wasn't too happy about that, the stubborn old coot," said a Stone Kunoichi, snickering.

"Yes, the Third Tsuchikage was difficult to please and fought against it at first," said Iruka, nodded. "But the Fourth Hokage was a wise man who appealed to the Tsuchikage's appreciation for military strength in the formation of these teams. It was only after the Fourth Raikage vouched on the Fourth Hokage's behalf that they managed a temporary term of agreement. For security purposes, the Five Great Nations only allowed genin teams of three from different nations to work together under a jonin instructor, not unlike that from normal teams from their respective nations."

Fu suddenly threw up her hand, unknowingly smacking a Mist genin in the face.

"Are there any special rules applied to us in terms of our teams?" she asked. "If we work together, does that mean we're not working for our own nations any more?"

"Each member is still representative of their own nations," said Iruka, "so you are expected to act in a way that does not tarnish your village's name. Like normal teams, each group will be allowed access to each village that signed the charter for the Internation Selection and will be allowed to accept missions given by the village's leader. And while each team will be expected to travel from village to village, at least two teams will be assigned residency in one of the villages. During your stay in these villages, you will be spending your time training as well as your personal time, so you are expected to accommodate to their laws as if they were your own village. After you are assigned to your teams, you will be given one week to collect all your personal items before they are relocated to your provided households.

"Be warned that even though you all have limited diplomatic immunity for taking part in this program, the village heads also have the freedom to deny anyone outside their own village. Anyone who is caught break the rules of their assigned village will have their punishments decided by both the village leader and the leader of the representative's nation. However, there are also cases where the situation will be handled directly by the village leader without the consent of the representative's nation.

"You mean infiltration," Gaara's soft voice carried across the room, drawing all eye toward him in curiosity. "By opening your gates to foreigners, you allow the possibility of rivaling countries gaining access to a village's most prized secrets: specialized jutsus unseen weaponry, and the village's defense and battle strategies that were once withheld to one nation are now primary targets for others to steal. And it opens the potential for other nations to form bonds through marital relations, giving other nations access to previously unavailable clan techniques and Kekkei Genkai. The Five Great Nations ion particular would doubtlessly take advantage of the situation, given their coveted power base.

' _Well, it sounds like he's done his homework,'_  thought Kakashi interestingly. ' _Then again, I suppose that's to be expected from the Fourth Kazekage's own son. I'll have to have Anko keep a close eye on this one._ '

' _Oh great, another guy who thinks he's so awesome,_ ' Naruto grimaced. ' _Look at him, standing there like that, trying to act so cool. I bet that gourd's just for show, anyway._ '

"I knew it I was right, but I can't believe no else noticed," said Fu with a serious expression. "That guys has no eyebrows…."

"That's what you're taking away from the whole thing," the pink-eyed Stone kunoichi, flabbergasted. "You're an idiot, Fu."

"Shut it, Kurotsuchi!" Fu snapped.

"Yes, that is true," said Iruka, nodding. "In the past, nations have used the International Selection as a means to obtain secret information from rivaling villages, and I will admit that the Hidden Leaf has also partaken in its own share of underhanded dealings. The leaders at the time attempted to resolve most of these issues by instating certain rules and regulations. In the end, the program did live out its purpose and shinobi villages were made stronger for it, building up relations with other countries to create the current state of peace we now enjoy. Sadly, the program was discontinued shortly after the Fourth Hokage's passing twelve years ago."

Many of the Jonin bowed their heads for the man. Though he had been their enemy for a time, the Fourth Hokage was a man worthy of respect and was the reason they were all brought together. Kakashi stepped forward past Iruka, coughing into his fist to catch everyone's attention once the moment passed.

"We realize now that the timing was poor when the Fourth Hokage established the International Selection," said Kakashi. "Nations were still recovering from war, tensions were at their highest, and nations were left vulnerable because of it. I'm sad to say that the program would have failed even without my predecessor's passing.

"But today is a new day. The villages have now had time to gather their strength and fortify their defenses and now we feel that it is time to start the program once more. This will be the second year that the International Selection has been undertaken after the overwhelming success of the first trial. Many teams have made significant strides not only in their training and relationships between the villages, but many have gone on to accomplish great things, and we can certainly expect the same of you. Your leaders have all chosen you because they feel you are the best that your villages have to offer. So before you are all divided up and sent on your way, I speak on their behalf when I say I have confidence that you will make us proud. Thank you."

The genin clapped respectfully save for a few individuals (Gaara and Sasuke). Kakashi stepped back with the other Jonin and Iruka once again stepped forward, holding another clipboard.

"All right, everyone, please be patient as I call out your names," he said. "I will now assign teams and their village of residence. First team: Masashi Kishimoto – "

And once again, Naruto had to sit the arduously long process of team assignments. Naruto grumbled under his breath, shaking his leg and tapping his finger impatiently. As soon as their names were called out, most of the assigned genin joined their respective groups, some of them friendly, and other mistrustful of their new teams, especially between the Stone and Cloud. After twenty minutes of waiting and twelve teams assigned, Naruto perked up when a familiar name reached his ears:

"The next team will be: Sakura Haruno of the Hidden Leaf, Kurotsuchi Kamizuru of the Hidden Stone, and Hokuto Kogumaga of the Hidden Star. Your assigned village will be the Hidden Mist."

' _NO!_ ' Sakura mentally wailed.

' _ **SHANNARO! Whoever's in charge of this bullshit is gonna have their throat ripped out! SHANNARO!**_ ' Inner Sakura roared furiously.

' _My new team…_ ' thought Hokuto, gulping nervously. ' _Why do I have a bad feeling that this isn't going to end well?_

"Tch, you've gotta be frreakin' kidding me," Kurotsuchi clicked her tongue with a displeased expression. "I get stuck with the fangirl  _and_ the mouse. That's just my luck. I knew I shouldn't have listened to gramps about joining this stupid project. I'm gonna rip that stupid mustache off his face when I get home."

"Next team," Iruka continued. "Sasuke Uchiha of the Hidden Leaf, Karin Uzumaki or the Hidden Grass, and Hiruko Richi of the Hidden Mist. Your assigned village will be the Hidden Leaf."

' _Yes! Sasuke's not on my team!_ ' Naruto cheered in my head. ' _Things are finally going my way!_ '

So happy that he wasn't on the same team as his "sworn rival" that Naruto failed to noticed the name Uzumaki among the team. Sasuke, however, noticed and glanced sideways at the thin little redhead standing halfway up the staircase.

' _So she's related to the same family as the loser,_ ' thought Sasuke with an agitated sigh. ' _Just my luck._ '

"Oh…so an Uzumaki and an Uchiha are on my team," said Hiruko interestingly. "This is certainly an interesting turn of events."

"Next team," Iruka moved along down the list, "will be Samui Nurui of the Hidden Cloud, Chojuro Nashi of the Hidden Mist, and Yakumo Kurama of the Hidden Leaf. Your assigned village will be the Hidden Cloud."

Closer to the front of the class, a remarkably busty blonde genin hummed thoughtfully, looking around when he teammates names were called. The one who perked up when Chojuro was called looked a little scraggly and less than reliable, but she did notice that he was carrying a massively large weapon on his back; a sword perhaps? As for Yakumo, there was nothing impressive about her; she almost looked like a doll than a shinobi, so Samuri could only assume that her talents must lie in a special talent or family ninjutsu.

"Nothing impressive on the surface," Samui muttered to herself, "but the point of ninjutsu is to conceal secrets. I'll have to wait and see before I make any assumptions."

With most of the teams already assigned, everyone could sense that the orientation was reaching its climax and Naruto still hadn't been called. He was starting to get worried that Iruka had made a mistake and that he wasn't going to be assigned a team; Naruto couldn't bear the humiliation that would bring. But a part of him knew that his mentor would never do anything so cruel and waited patiently, pinning all his hopes that the next one would be him – "

"And for the last team," Iruka interrupted his thoughts, "Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf, Gaara Sabaku of the Hidden Sand, and Fu Nagare of the Hidden Waterfall. Your assigned village will be the Hidden Leaf.

"All right!" Naruto jumped up to his feet and screamed, causing many to fall out of their chairs and cover their ears. "Finally! Now I get to see some real action! I'm gonna get to show you all how incredibly awesome I really am!"

"That idiot is on my team," grumbled Gaara disapprovingly.

"Sweet!" Fu cheered, bouncing on the desk. "My team looks awesome! Way better than yours, Kurotsuchi."

"Oh, bite me, flat chest," said Kurotsuchi snarkily.

"Who're you calling flat chest, flat chest!" Fu snarled.

"Oh, great comeback!" Kurotsuchi growled.

"Now, now, let's all settle down," said Kakashi lightly, waving his hand casually. "Your jonin instructors will still have a lot of paperwork to fill out before you can get started. Why don't you all take this time to get to know one another. And with that in mind, I'm off.

And with a one-handed seal, the fifth Hokage vanished in a cloud of smoke with Iruka and the jonin following in his example.

* * *

With their newfound free time, Sakura thought it would be a nice gesture of friendship if she invited her new teammates to lunch at the most popular dango shop in the Hidden Leaf market. She was pleasantly surprised and grateful that they hadn't encountered the sadistic snake kunoichi, Anko Mitarashi. While Sakura had only encountered her a handful of times, each moment last an impression on her that was bound to scar her for life. Honestly, she couldn't see why the Fifth Hokage was so smitten with her.

As her new team placed their orders, Sakura found this to be a good opportunity to study her comrades:

Kurotsuchi was definitely the muscle on the team; her body thin and lithe, but toned in a way that could only come from years of intense training. Her jet-black hair cut short in a way that almost made her look masculine if not for the narrow jawline and the bright, pupil-less pink eyes. Hokuto was the complete opposite; small with no real defining features other than her free-speaking mannerism as she always shared her opinion with Sakura on the way to the shop. Since the Hidden Star is only a recently founded village, Sakura admitted that she didn't know a lot about her new teammate.

When their food had arrived, Sakura and Hokuto politely thanked the waitress, but Kurotsuchi quickly snatched the nearest stick, using it to gesture to the other girls.

"All right, first order of business," said Kurotsuchi, trying to sound authoritative, which was a little difficult with her mouth stuffed with dumplings. "Since we're a team, now, we need to establish an order."

"Order?" said Hokuto, tilting her head.

"Yeah, like who's in charge," said Kurotsuchi. "Obviously, that's gonna be me. Second of all – "

"What makes you think you're the leader," said Sakura, leaning forward with her eyes narrowed challengingly. "Hokuto and I could be team leaders, too, you know."

"Yeah, but I can kick both of your asses from here to Black Rock Mountain," said Kurotsuchi smugly, waving her stick tauntingly in Sakura's face. "Unless you want to contest me for the spot? I wouldn't mind a chance to see just how well the Hidden Leaf's genin stack up."

"…No," said Sakura begrudgingly.

" _ **SHANNARO! Who the hell does she think she is? I should totally kick her ass! SHANNARO!**_ ' howled Inner Sakura.

"Not to be rude or anything," Hokuto spoke up, raising her hand politely. "But isn't our sensei the leader of our team?"

"Not after I'm done," said Kurotsuchi smugly. "My grandpa's the Third Tsuchikage and he taught me a lot of jutsu no one else does. The first thing I'm gonna do is show our sensei who's really in charge."

"Oh, is that so…."

The team of Kunoichi immediately stiffened, but it was Kurotsuchi who was sweating bullets. Before she even realized what had happened, she found the empty dongo stick missing from her hand and pressed against her jugular vein, gently pricking into her skin. Sakura fell backwards out of her seat and Hokuto skittered sideways to join her.

A tall, pale-skinned woman kneeled directly behind Kurotsuchi, the top half of her hair tied into a mossy-green bun with two orange locks that framed her face. The forehead protector she wore indicated her allegiance to the Hidden Sand. She held the pointed stick against Kurotsuchi's neck for a few more seconds before deciding to relent and pull away; Kurotsuchi grasped her neck fearfully, taking deep breaths.

"Had this been the Hidden Sand, you would be dead before you even crossed the border," said the woman, tossing the stick back on its plate and taking a seat at the head of the table. "If you wish to survive this cruel world of shinobi, the first thing you must do is never assume your victories, for arrogance is the principle of defeat. Am I clear, Kurotsuchi?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," said Kurotsuchi, gulping.

"Good," said the woman. "As you may have already guessed, I am your Jonin instructor, Pakura. Some of you may recognize me as Pakura of the White Sands."

"Oh yeah, I've heard of you!" shouted Hokuto eagerly, raising her hand ever-so politely. "You're the hero who stopped the Stone's plans during their feud with the Hidden Sand, right?"

"For the most part," said Pakura. "As your Jonin instructor, I have no intention of going easy on you. I will work you three until your knuckles bleed and your bones crack. I will push you until you are within an inch from death. Your only options will be to become excellent kunoichi or die trying. Am I understood, ladies?"

"Absolutely, Pakura-sensei," said Sakura, nodding.

' _ **Save me, Sasuke-kun! SHANNARO!**_ '

* * *

Sasuke's team didn't travel far from the academy, having gone up to the roof where they could see the view of the entire village stretched out around them. His teammates had been eerily quiet ever since they were assigned together and even someone like Sasuke, who enjoyed the peace, found it unnerving. He leaned against the roof's railing, the wind blowing through his hair, as he took in his new squad with a hint of uncertainty.

First there was Karin Uzumaki – Sasuke couldn't get past the fact that she and the dead last dropout might somehow be related. They looked nothing alike; Karin had deep crimson eyes behind her narrow glasses and bright red hair done up in an unusual hairstyle: short and spiky on one side, long and straight on the other. Then there was the fact that they were from different villages, though Sasuke supposed Naruto's family – whoever they were – may have migrated here from at some point. But in a predictable fashion, Karin was staring at him intensely just as the girls who constantly annoyed him in class.

And then there was Hiruko. The white-haired boy was farther away from the rest of the group, staring off into space without a care in the world. His entire body was almost completely covered either in bandages or his oversized, high-collared coat. Sasuke didn't trust him; no one would need such attire unless they were trying to hide something. Maybe it was scar tissue from bodily surgery, or maybe it was for the purpose of hiding some type of new jutsu. Sasuke never wished more than anything to master his family's Kekkei Genkai right now.

"Um…excuse me," said Karin timidly.

"What?" Sasuke snapped impatiently, making Karin flinch.

"Uh, s-sorry," said Karin, fiddling with her finger nervously. "I just…wanted to say that…you have really nice chakra. It's so powerful for someone your age. You don't see that level of strength from normal genin."

"You can see chakra?" asked Sasuke curiously.

"Kind of," said Karin. "I'm a sensory type. I can see chakra from a certain distance and track individual movements. I can also perceive whenever someone is under a genjutsu, so I can automatically dispel it."

"Hmm…I guess you're not so useless after all," said Sasuke; Karin didn't know if she should take that as a compliment or an insult. "Hey, if you can sense the strength of a person's chakra, then how about him?"

"You mean Hiruko?" asked Karin, turning toward the mummified boy, who was still staring off into nothing. "Um…okay, sure, I guess?

She lifted her glasses and narrowed her eyes, focusing her blurry vision on Hiruko. In her eyes, the solid figure of her teammate faded away and was replaced by a solid mass of torrential energy. But where she saw a powerful flame of strength from Sasuke, she saw something completely different in Hiruko.

' _This…this can't be right, can it?_ ' thought Karin, her eyes wide as dinner plates. " _One,_ _two – no, wait, three – four…five. Five! There are Five different chakra colors swirling through his network. But that can't be right…that's impossible…. Unless…._ '

"Given the way you're staring so intently at him, I'm guessing you like him.

Karin jumped, throwing up her glasses, and fumbling to catch them before she replaced them on her face. She immediately turned around as Sasuke moved into a combative stance. Hiruko, on the other hand, finally pulled away from his dream space and slowly tilted his head in the direction of the voice, not at all surprised by the sudden intrusion.

The newcomer was not much only than they are, perhaps only reaching the end of his teenage years, with mangy black hair tied back in a small ponytail and very pronounced tear-troughs. With the simple flak jacket and forehead protector as his garb, they could tell right away that he was a Hidden Lead shinobi, though Karin and Hiruko did not miss the striking resemblance shared between their teammate and the jonin. Sasuke outburst that followed only confirmed their suspicions.

"Itachi, what are you doing here?" he asked agitatedly. "I told you and father, I don't need you checking up on me. I'm a genin now."

"I know that, Sasuke," said Itachi humorously, ruffling his brother's hair; Sasuke immediately swatted his hand away. "Relax already, I'm not here to check up on you or anything."

"Then why are you here?" asked Sasuke impatiently.

"Isn't it obvious," Hiruko finally spoke, his voice low and muffled by the bandages. "Your brother is our new jonin intrustor."

Sasuke stared at Hiruko with wide eyes before rounding to his brother, looking for confirmation. Itachi smiled in a playful way and almost immediately, Sasuke felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over him.

"Son of a…," Sasuke started.

"Language, Sasuke," warned Itachi, waving a finger at his brother.

Sasuke groaned, burying his face in his hands. This must be god's way of punishing him; it just has to be.

* * *

Chojuro could hardly believe his luck – and it wasn't good luck.

He was always so awkward with his scrawny stature, his square earmuff-glasses, and his pointed teeth, and that's not even getting into his clumsiness. But worst of all, he was extremely shy around girls, and both of his teammates just happened to be the most beautiful girls he had ever seen since the fourth Mizukage's wife. And somehow, he managed to find himself sitting on a bench in between them in a very public park somewhere in the heart of the Leaf village.

He sat there, twiddling his thumbs through the awkward silence, occasionally glancing from side to side at his new teammates.

On the right was Samui, a cool-faced girl with a blonde bob and a humongous rack that was way too far along for someone that was only entering their teenage years. She coolly sipped on the cold soda she purchased from a vending machine, staring with disinterest at the park patrons. And on his right was Yakumo, a more delicate beauty with skin like snow and dressed in a pink kimono that made her appear even more doll-like. Opposite of her fellow kunoichi, she focused all her attention to the sketched pad that she carried with her, her thin fingers carrying the pencil slowly across the paper.

The silence was so awkward. He needed to say something….

"So…nice day, huh?" said Chojuro awkwardly.

"Hmm…it's cool," Samui hummed.

"Yes, it is," Yakumo spoke softly.

And they were back to silence; Chojuro was tempted to slap himself.

Just when the awkwardness had reached its maximum, a strange man suddenly walked up to them, hands in his pockets and slouched over like he couldn't be bothered to stand up straight. Dark-skinned and a head of shaggy white hair that covered his left eye, he donned the jacket traditionally used by the Jonin of the Hidden Cloud village and carried a wide sword sheath on his back. The white-haired jonin scratched the back of his eyes, blinking lazily down at the young shinobi.

"Uh, hi," said the man althargically. "My name's Darui and I guess I'm your jonin instructor. You're probably expecting some kind of speech or something, but those are way too dull, so let's just forget about it, okay?"

"I'm fine with that," said Yakumo casually.

"Cool," said Samui.

Chojuro wanted to scream; his team is so awkward!

* * *

Naruto's team never left the classroom, mostly because Gaara refused to leave his secluded corner. He was just standing there, arms crossed, glaring at an empty space of wall. Naruto and Fu got along well enough; their personalities were so similar that they became fast friends. Unfortunately, their third teammate made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with them, making a conscious effort to put distance between himself and the others.

"So…what're we gonna do about him?" Naruto whispered to Fu. "We can't exactly be a team if he doesn't talk to us."

"Why don't we just talk to him?" Fu suggested.

"But he looks like he'll kill us if we even get close," said Naruto.

"Oh, you're just exaggerating," said Fu, smiling brilliantly as she grabbed him by the arm. "C'mon, let's make friends with our teammate!"

"Wait! What're you doing?" Naruto sputtered.

Gaara tilted his head up, noticing that his new teammates were walking up the steps toward him, Naruto being pulled behind by Fu, who was remarkably strong. She didn't let go of him until they were standing a couple feet away from Gaara, who may as well have been looking through them with that piercing stare. Both of them mustered up their best smiles, which obviously looked forced.

"Hel-loooo!" said Fu in a sing-song voice. "We're your new teammates. My name is Fu…from the Hidden Waterfall."

"Uh-huh," said Gaara with a noncommittal grunt.

"Uh, and I'm Naruto Uzumaki…of the Hidden Leaf," said Naruto, holding out his hand. When Gaara didn't take he, he pulled it back awkwardly. "So like…yeah, nice to meet you."

"Hmm," Gaara hummed, his stare never wavering.

"What're you doing?" Fu whispered to Naruto.

"I don't know - help me!" Naruto hissed back.

"So…you're Gaara, right?" said Fu, chuckling nervously. "I heard you were from the Hidden Sand. That's in the middle of the desert, right Is that why you don't have any eyebrows? Because they got burned off in the sun."

For the first time since he arrived, Gaara showed the slightest hint of emotion, and it was annoyance. His eyes narrowed dangerously and a soft growl rumbled in his throat, the ever-present warning sign that he was gonna hurt someone. Fu took a step back, suddenly realizing that she may have gone a bit too far now; she always knew her mouth would be the death of her. Thankfully, Naruto stepped in between them, holding his arms out to keep them apart.

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down now," said Naruto anxiously. "I'm sure he didn't mean it to be offensive or anything?"

"Yeah, I totally – wait, he?" said Fu, quickly snapping her head at Naruto.

"Take it from me," Naruto continued. "Guys like him don't always think before they speak."

"I'm sorry – guy?" Fu repeated, her right eye suddenly twitching.

"It's not something worth getting upset about," said Naruto, not realizing the looming danger right behind him. "But we're a team now, and I think a team of three men should be able to work together without – "

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Naruto," Fu cut him off, turning him around by the shoulder. "I'm probably just mishearing this, but…it sounded like you think I'm a boy."

"Well, because you are," said Naruto, clueless to his mistake. "I mean, yeah, it's kinda weird seeing a boy in a skirt, but I just figured that was either the style from where you're from or you just like cross-dressing. Either way, I'm totally okay with having a dude wearing a skirt."

"Well, that's very kind of you," said Fu slowly, patting him on the shoulder. "Except…."

Gaara must have had nerves of steel. He did not flinch when a furious scream echoed in the tiny classroom, nor when a deafening boom exploded in his ears and chunks of wood sprayed around him. When the noise had passed, he looked down at the sizzling remains of Naruto's body buried half a foot in the floorboard, a bulbous swelling throbbing through his blonde hair. Fu had her fist raised, still smoking from when she clobbered the poor boy, with her jaw clenched and her eyes alight with a great rage that matching the throbbing vein in her temple.

For the first time in a while, Gaara looked amused.

"Ow…," moaned Naruto, lifting his head up. "What was that for?"

"I'm a girl, you idiot!" screamed Fu, enraged

"Wha? Really?" gasped Naruto. "But you totally look like a dude! Your chest is flat and everything!"

"You son of a – "

Fu pulled her fist back for another swing when she realized…she couldn't move. Her entire body has suddenly stiffened up, like she had been frozen in ice. Naruto made a surprised noise and even Gaara took a step back, looking equally surprised, both of them staring at the space in front of Fu. The mint-haired kunoichi went cross-eyed and saw that she was being held in place by a single, slender finger pressed against her forehead. She heard a soft noise – it sounded like a giggle – and when the finger pulled away, Fu suddenly fell very weak at the knees and fell back on her butt.

With a weak groan, Fu stared up with her teammates, suddenly realizing there was a fourth person in the room. She was a short, but curvaceous woman with short blue hair partially tied into an asymmetrical bun and held in place by a flower of a lighter shade of blue and a labret piercing. She wore a very revealing navy-blue robe that exposed her arms, back, and stomach, which had four piercings around her navel, and black pants that also functioned as her shoes. The forehead protector on her right hip indicated that she was affiliated with the Hidden Rain.

"Now, now, settle down, you three," said the woman in a soft, but firm voice. "You're all teammates now, so I expect you to get along. No more infighting, all right?"

' _Whoa, where did she come from?_ ' Fu thought in awe. ' _I didn't even see her come in._ '

' _T_ _hat was so cool,_ ' thought Naruto in awe. ' _She stopped him – I mean, her – with only a finger._ '

' _There's no way she should have been able to enter the room with me being able to sense her presence,_ ' thought Gaara with a guarded stance. ' _Even my father is not that skilled. Who is this woman…?_ '

The strange, blue-haired woman suddenly clapped, snapping everyone out of their thoughts.

"Okay, do I have all of your attention?" asked the woman, looking around at the three Jonin. "Great. From this day forward, you three are a team and I am your jonin instructor…Konan of the Hidden Rain, It's a pleasure to meet you all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, you all are probably wonder what's going on right now with all these characters suddenly appearing like this. Well, here's a little bit of background information to help get you situated:
> 
> First off, the Uchiha Massacre never occurred, which means that the Uchiha are still very much alive and Itachi is not a wanted criminal. Some of you are probably wondering what Sasuke's goal in life now is without his quest for vengeance. Well, the fact of the matter is that the century long feud between the Uchiha and the Senju hold no importance in this universe. Here, there is a different villain at work with an equally sinister plan. But that doesn't mean Hashirama and Madara won't be appearing in the future.
> 
> Secondly, Yahiko still died from Hanzo's ambush, but Nagato and Konan never went on to form the evil version of Akatsuki, choosing to respect Yahiko's wish for finding peace through a better method other than stooping to the level of the enemies. Nagato's location is currently unknown, but Konan chose to participate in the International Selection because she believes that the children are the best way to ensure a peaceful future.
> 
> Now I know people are wondering why Killer B isn't their jonin instructor, given that he is a Jinchuuriki like them. Well, the most important reason is that in this early stage of their lives, tampering with their Bijuu would be incredibly dangerous, even with another Jinchuuriki overseeing them – in fact, it might even be more dangerous because of it. With Konan, they can focus on their human halves and grow up to be better people before they are weighed down by the burdens of their literal inner demons. Plus Konan's own knowledge and skill set make her efficient at prevent their Bijuu powers from running rampant, which is something Killer B honestly wouldn't know how to do because he only knows how to control his own powers, not others.


	3. Survival Test: Pass or Fail

The newly formed team of Genin stayed in their places, staring up at the woman with a mixture of curiosity (Fu), amazement (Naruto), and mistrust (Gaara). This woman – Konan she called herself – had suddenly appeared with sending any signal of her arrival and defused what would have been a terrible situation with only a finger. Gaara, the more observant person of the team, could tell that Fu was super-humanly strong given the way she destroyed the floorboard, even if she had been using Naruto as a base. So to be able to stop her and render Fu by just poking her forehead, this Konan character couldn't have been an ordinary kunoichi.

' _Somehow I get the feeling my father had a hand in this_ ,' thought Gaara darkly. ' _He wanted to make sure I don't run wild with my newfound freedom. Typical…_ '

"Hmm…," Konan hummed, chin on her fist as she looked at the three thoughtfully. "How can I put this? As for my first impression of you guys? Well…you're not much to look at."

That quickly shifted the mood. Naruto and Fu's face's dropped and Gaara made no visible expression, but there was a noticeable twitch in his right eye. Any sense of wonderment they had for their new instructor was immediately replaced with irritation.

"Okay, let's take this somewhere a little less stuffy," said Konan in a cheerful manner. "Why don't we all head up to the roof for some fresh air? See you in five minutes."

Naruto, Fu, and Gaara all blinked at the same time, almost as if they were compelled to, and suddenly their Jonin instructor was nowhere to be seen. Naruto and Fu looked around, open-mouthed at their teacher's sudden disappearance, and Gaara stared at the floor where she once stood as if expecting some kind of explanation to just show up.

"Well, that was rude," said Fu irritably, fists on her hips. "Who does she think she is, judging us like that?"

"Well, she's not entirely wrong," said Gaara. "At least one person here isn't worth paying attention to."

"Huh, there is?" said Naruto curiously. "Who is it? Is it Fu?"

Sweat drops formed over Gaara and Fu. The sand Genin sighed exasperatedly as he slowly marched down the steps towards the door, only stopping for a moment to look back at his team.

"Let's go," he said. "We're expected on the roof in exactly five minutes, and I don't feel like waiting around for either of you."

Though he was a little rude about it, he did make a point; Fu shuffled down the steps shortly after him and Naruto bounced over the desk to fall in line with the others. Since Naruto knew his way around the academy, they decided to let him lead for now, and in under five minutes as planned, they opened the door to the open rooftop. They found Konan leaned against the railing on the opposite end, the wind blowing through her hair in a way that almost made her seem…angelic.

Naruto hopped over and took a seat on the small set of stairs. Gaara and Fu took a moment to rest their gourd and clothed contained off to the side before taking their own seats on either side of him.

"Ah, the fresh air is so much better, don't you think?" said Konan, sharing a small smile with the children. "But that's not what we're here to discuss are we. Let see…since none of us know each other, this would be the perfect time to make some introductions. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so we should take the opportunity to get to know one another."

"You make it sound so easy," said Fu, glancing upwards in thought for a moment. "What kind of things are we supposed to say?"

"Let's start with something easy," said Konan. "Likes, dislikes, hobbies, maybe even your dreams for the future – stuff like that."

"Hey, that's cool," said Naruto, "but before we say anything, why don't you tell us about yourself."

"I guess that's only fair," said Konan, nodded. "My name is Konan Tenshi. My likes include flame-broiled fish and toads, but I absolutely hate deep-fried foods – too oily for my liking. My hobbies are origami and flower pressing. And my dreams for the future…well, I guess I never really thought of that. What else…oh, I also have a record of sixty-five C-rank missions, one hundred and sixty-one B-rank missions, eighty-five A-rank missions and thirty S-rank missions."

Fu whistled, very impressed, and said, "Wow, that's a pretty high record."

"Uh…B-rank? A-rank?" mumbled Naruto, having no clue what they were referring to.

' _With a record like that,_ ' thought Gaara suspiciously, ' _she could easily be an S-rank shinobi._ '

"Well, now you know a little about me," said Konan, gesturing a finger to Naruto. "And since you were the first one to ask, why don't you go next?"

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki!" said Naruto excitedly, fidgeting with his forehead protector. "I like instant ramen, but what I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei treats me to! What I dislike is waiting for the three minutes after pouring hot water in the instant ramen! My hobby is eating and comparing ramen!"

' _How the hell has he not had a heart attack yet?_ ' thought Konan, a sweat drop forming.

"And my dream for the future…," said Naruto, pausing for dramatic effect, "is to become the greatest Hokage in history! And so I'm gonna get the entire village to acknowledge my existence!"

" _I see…_ ," said Konan with a small smile. " _He's a lot like you in so many ways, Yahiko._ ' Her eyes then glanced over to his right side, directed at Fu. "Okay, next. How about…the person who is obviously a girl."

"Thank you," said Fu, shooting a pointed look at Naruto. "My name is Fu Nagare. I like making new friends and visiting new place, but I definitely love my village the most. I hate people who think I'm a boy" – once again, she shot a glare at Naruto - "my hobbies are swimming and bug collecting, especially rhino beetles - they're so cool. And my dream is to make everyone acknowledge the Hidden Waterfall are a Great Shinobi nation and become the first Takikage."

"Well, that's certainly an admirable dream," said Konan approvingly.

"More like an impossible dream," said Gaara in a hollow tone. "The Hidden Waterfall is a small nation with a weak military base. Their inferior strength is the reason why they're forced to hide the location of their village from other nations. The Hidden Waterfall is filled with nothing but cowards."

"What was that?" Fu snarled, jumping to her feet. "Take that back!"

"You know it's true," said Gaara disinterested. "Why else would they send only one Genin to the Selection."

Fu growled and grinded her teeth furiously, but could not say anything in response. Naruto stuttered with his words, trying to quell Fu's anger, but the mint-haired kunoichi walked around until she was standing directly in front of him. Gaara didn't even bother looking up, just staring ahead at Fu's navel. This made Fu even more pissed off. And just as Fu started to pull back her fist, Konan stepped in and held the girl back by her wrist.

"Let me go!" Fu howled. "I'm gonna slap that tattoo straight off his face!"

But Konan didn't share her opinion on the outcome. He eye glanced towards the gourd Gaara had removed, noticing that it had shifted half and inch close without anyone touching it.

' _So that's the trick, huh?_ ' thought Konan. ' _The Fifth Hokage was right to be worried about this one._ '

"Stop looking so smug, you son of a – "

"Okay, that's enough," said Konan with a tone of finality. She pulled Fu away from her teammate and forced her to take a seat again. "Obviously we have some issues to iron out, but Gaara, you shouldn't be so rude."

"Whatever," said Gaara uncaringly.

Konan let out a sigh and said, "All right, why don't you go next then?"

"My name is Gaara Sakabu," said Gaara, his voice barely a whisper. "I like nothing and dislike everything. Hobbies are meaningless, and there's no point in having a dream."

' _Well, he's just a regular ray of sunshine,_ ' thought Naruto drearily.

' _He's a downer on top of being rude,_ ' thought Fu. ' _I bet he's like this because his eyebrows got burned off or something._

' _This one might be the worst case yet,_ ' thought Konan seriously. ' _I read the reports about the boy's history, but I thought they were mere exaggeration. Clearly, I was wrong. He's going to need a lot of help._ '

"All right, that was good!" said Konan, brushing off the tense atmosphere he created. "You three are definitely unique and interesting. So, I'm just gonna cut to the chase: we'll be having a mission tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Naruto eagerly with a salute. "What kind of mission?"

"First, we'll do what we can with just four people," said Konan.

"What? What? What?" Naruto jabbered repeatedly.

"…a survival exercise," said Konan.

"Survival exercise?" Naruto repeated, confused.

"Why are we doing an exercise even though this is supposed to be a mission?" asked Fu, frowning in disappointment. "We've already done tons of exercises when we were in school."

"This is no ordinary exercise," said Konan.

"Then…then what kind of exercise is it?" asked Naruto.

"Well…actually, I kind of feel bad for having to tell you this," said Konan, tilting her head, her sweet smile becoming somewhat smug. "Because I know if I tell you, you'll go flying into a panic."

"Huh?" said Naruto and Fu together.

"The truth of the matter is," said Konan in an ominous voice, "out of the eighteen teams deployed today, only three of them will remain genin. The remaining teams will be sent back home and back to the academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a failure rate of sixty-six percent or higher."

" _That's such a ridiculous bluff,_ ' thought Gaara disbelievingly. ' _If only three teams get to stay as Genin, then that would defeat the entire purpose of the International Selection. What would be the point of assigning teams to other villages just to make them come back? And it would hardly improve relationship with other nations. Only an idiot would fall for such an obvious trick._ '

' _No! This can't be happening!_ ' Naruto screamed in his head, swating pouring down like bullets. ' _I can't go back to the academy! Not after the way I showed off in front of everyone! I'll be humiliated!_ '

' _Why didn't Shibuki-kun tell me this was a thing!_ ' Fu squeaked. ' _You'd think that was the kind of thing you would tell someone, especially your own little sister!_ '

"Hah! You see?" Konan chuckled amusingly at their varied expressions. "I said you would panic!"

"That's crazy!" yelled Naruto. "Why do we have to suffer like that? What was the whole point of the graduation tests, then?"

"Oh, that," said Konan casually. "It was just to select those who have the potential to become Genin.

"Whaaat?" Naruto whined.

"Well, that's just the way it is?" said Konan, shrugging. "Personally, I would love to pass each of you, but there are rules for a reason. It's my job to determine whether you all have what it takes to be real shinobi. You have permission to bring any shinobi tools you wish. We will meet at five in the morning."

' _N-no way am I going to be dropped now,_ ' thought Naruto, trembling. ' _I've got to have my strength recognized for real._ '

' _If I fail this test, Shibuki-kun will never let me leave the village again,_ ' thought Fu, clutching her fist determinedly. ' _I'm putting my future on the line!_ '

Gaara, as always, seemed impassive to the whole thing and just stared at the jonin unblinkingly.

"Okay, you're all dismissed," said Konan. "Oh, and one more thing: you'd best skip breakfast tomorrow. You'll just throw it back up."

* * *

That night, Naruto and Fu had the most restless sleep of their lives, while Gaara, on the other hand, didn't sleep at all.

The sand Genin stood atop the pinnacle of a large building overlooking the Hidden Leaf market street, his eyes wandering over the few remaining people that wandered the night as the pale moonlight glistened behind him. The chatter was short and full of drunken slurs from men out late at night drinking themselves out of their paychecks. One of the drunks stumbled off on his one, hobbling into a dark and deserted alleyway, leaning against the wall just to keep himself from tipping over.

Gaara could feel the blood pumping in his veins. It would be so easy…the man was so drunk out of his mind that he wouldn't feel a thing…all it would take was one twitch of the finger sand no one would be any wiser….

But Gaara restrained himself, resisting the natural impulse and watched the drunken man stumble out of the alley into the village streets. He sighed exhaustedly…it was a lot harder to resist than he could have believed….

Gaara decided to head back to his new apartment before his old habits got the better of him, never noticing the paper plane slowly gliding in the background.

* * *

The sun was barely starting to come up by the time Naruto and the other were needed to be at the designated training grounds. Naruto had spent a good thirty minutes sleepily stumbling through a barely lit street, getting himself lost at least four times before he figured out where he was going. The trio came from different directions; Naruto with bags heavy under his eyes and Fu's hair disheveled with hints of drool plastered on her chin; Gaara was the only one that looked decent.

"Morning…," Fu mumbled tiredly.

"Eeehhhh," Naruto slurred.

The three finally came together and they waited for their teacher…and waited…and waited…and wait…. The sun was starting to come out in pull, appearing over the surrounding mountains and casting a brilliant light that burned the Genin's retinas. When the first hour passed, Fu feel asleep on her feet and woke up when she fell on her face. By the second hour, Naruto had slumped to the ground and was staring up into space half asleep, mouth agape with drool crawling down his chin.

It wasn't until the third hour when Konan came into view, looking fresh as a daisy, hands folded behind her back with a serene smile.

"Hey, kids, did you all have a good night sleep?" said Konan innocently.

"You're late!" Naruto and Fu bounced up, pointing accusing fingers at their teacher.

"I know," said Konan calmly. "That was intentional. I wanted to get you kids up early so that you would be dead on your feet by the time the exercise started."

"That's a dirty trick!" yelled Fu.

"No, that's being smart," said Konan. "A true shinobi always makes the situation favorable towards themselves, no matter how little the advantage may be." The Genin growled, but did not argue with her logic. "Anyway…let's get straight into it, shall we?"

Walking over to a wooden post in the ground, she reached into the pouch on the back of her belt and pulled out what looked like an egg timer. She turned the dial and set it on the log in plain view of everyone.

"All right, this time is set to go off exactly at noon," said Konan. She reached into her pouch once more and pulled out a pair of silver bells. "This is a little exercise my former teacher once used to train me and my friends back when we were kids. This assignment is quite simple: take these bells away from me before noon. Simple, right? By the way, those who can't complete this exercise won't be getting any lunch." Fu gasped horrifically. "And I bought you all special bentos on the way over. If you fail, you'll be tied to the post over there and I'll eat it right in front of you."

' _The horror!_ ' Naruto wailed in his head.

' _This woman is a sadist!_ ' Fu cried.

' _So that's why she told us not to eat breakfast,_ ' thought Gaara, unable to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his own empty stomach.

"Hey, hold on a minute!" called out Fu. "Why are there only two bells?"

"I'm glad you asked," said Konan. "The reason is because even in the most favorable circumstances, at least one of you will be tied to the pole. That person will be disqualified for failing the mission and will be sent back to school for more training. On the positive side, that means only one of you will be eliminated as a maximum. But in the worst-case scenario, all three of you will be sent home. You're allowed to use any tools available. Unless you come at me with the intention of kill me, you'll never be able to take the bell, let alone even harm me."

"So all we gotta do is take some stupid bell and we pass?" said Naruto, grinning self-confidently. "This is gonna be a breeze."

' _Is this guy being serious_?" thought Gaara incredulously. ' _Does he not sense how powerful she is? Even I find myself hesitating._ '

' _Yeah, he's going to get his ass kicked first; I just know it,_ ' thought Fu.

"They say that those who talk the loudest are the ones overcompensating for their lack of skill," said Konan. Naruto jerked, his eyebrow twitching. "I read your record, Naruto Uzumaki. I can say without a doubt that you are by far the worst ninja I have ever seen." Naruto made a grumbling noise. "All right, you three, we'll start when I say go."

Without warning, Naruto reached a hand into his leg holster and whipped out a kunai, charging at the jonin before his teammates even had a chance to stop him. Konan smirked and when he student was within a foot of her reach, she swiped her hand across the air and slapped the kunai from his hand, sending it flying uselessly into the grass. Before Naruto could get his wits about him, Konan thrust her open palm into his face, throwing the boy back on the ground and sliding back to his original starting point.

"Don't be so hasty," said Konan. "I didn't say go yet. But I guess that's fine. At least you came at me with the intention of killing me."

Naruto pulled himself up, frowning as he wiped a small smear of blood that dripped from his nose. Together, the three genin focused all their attention on their Jonin instructor, who was smiling at them like she had just heard a mildly amusing joke.

" _No surprise that she was able to kick Naruto's butt so easily,_ ' thought Fu. ' _But she did it without even moving a step._ '

' _I haven't gone against an S-rank Jonin since my father,_ ' thought Gaara. ' _I can't afford to let my guard down_.'

"It looks like you kids are eager to begin," said Konan. "Very well then…we will begin the survive exercise…NOW!"

And in a blur of motion, Konan suddenly found herself alone in the middle of the field.

* * *

It was a rare privilege to be given an audience with the fifth Hokage considering his busy work schedule, but Iruka had the advantage of being close acquaintances with the masked man to earn himself a private chat. The two men had found a secluded place in the teacher's lounge of the Academy where the fifth Hokage sat patiently as Iruka pour him a cup of tea.

"Thanks for the Hospitality, Iruka," said Kakashi as the scarred man took a seat across from him. "But you didn't call me just so we can have tea, did you?"

"Should have known you would see through me, Lord Hokage," said Iruka. "Honestly, I was hoping to talk a little about Naruto's team. Given Naruto's…condition, I was worried if his teammates might be a problem. And I was also wondering if their Jonin instructor knows about it as well."

"Ah, I had a feeling it would be something like that," said Kakashi. He then reached inside his coat and pulled out a thick file envelope with Naruto, Gaara, and Fu's pictures paper-clipped on. "If you're really that worried, have a look for yourself. I think you might be pleasantly surprised."

"These are…," Iruka murmured, but nonetheless accepted the file.

He opened the first fold and almost immediately came upon Naruto's papers. It was exactly as he expected it to be: reports on grades, his relations, his personality, his abilities, and his performance. There was also a column that briefly mentioned Naruto's…inner demon, as it were. This was nothing new to Iruka, so he moved on to the next file, which belonged to Gaara. Right from the get-go, he could tell that the boy from the Hidden Sand was a genius level prodigy that was every bit Sasuke's equal. Reports on her performance and grades were phenomenal; it made sense why they could him together with an academic catastrophe like Naruto. But when he saw the extra column, he was unable to withhold his gasp and his eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"This…this is…," Iruka stuttered.

Fearing the worst, Iruka moved on to Fu's file, completely skipping all over her information and going straight for the extra column. The moment his eyes fell upon it, his heart immediately sank.

"Dear god…what have you people done…?"

* * *

It's been twenty-two minutes now since her students scattered. Konan had wandered around for a little bit, marching out into a small clearing near a river. As she moved around, her eyes moved around subtly, taking notice of the surroundings. With her sharp perception, she immediately noticed a patch of recently upturned soil nearby. Someone had taken to hiding underground; Konan could only assume it was Gaara. It was a clever hiding spot for normal people, but very predictable to those who knew about Sand Shinobi. Konan's eyes also spotted a small, almost unnoticeable piece of wood bobbing in the water. That had to be Fu – she was hiding in the water, using the wood as a breathing tube. Again, clever, but predictable.

' _Fundamentally, shinobi must mask their presence and hide,_ ' thought Konan. ' _They could use a little work, but overall, not bad for Genin. That just leaves…._ '

Naruto suddenly jumped out into the open, perching himself on a rock with his arms crossed smugly. Konan tripped over her foot and nearly face-planted. She looked at the boy with a look of disbelief. He wasn't that stupid, right…?

"All right! Let's face off fair and square!" Naruto proclaimed loudly.

"Huh?" said Konan, tilting her head with the same expression.

"That idiot…," Gaara sighed irritably.

' _What the hell is he doing?' thought Fu._

"Uh…not to be rude or anything," said Konan slowly, "but you're not exactly the bright bulb, are you?"

"Shows what you know!" shouted Naruto. "I'm not gonna go run and hide like a little baby like the other two! I'm gonna take you down and show you who's the top dog around here!"

"Number one, the whole point of a ninja is to hide and be stealth," said Konan blankly. "If you just go running out into the open screaming your head off like a monkey, it kind of defeats the purpose. Second, I'm a Jonin and you're a Genin. There's only one way a fight between us is ever going to end. If you were smart, then you would know that the best option would be to relieve the bell from me quietly without notice. But I'm getting my hopes up a little. I shouldn't expect anything more than someone who could only pass the graduation exam because the teacher likes to play favorites – "

"Shut your damn mouth!" roared Naruto!" I'm gonna freakin' pound you into the ground!"

The boy from the Hidden Leaf blindly charges at his instructor, but Konan makes no visible effort to move out of his way. As Naruto takes a swing at her head, she effortlessly catches the fist in her palm and close her hand around his knuckles. Naruto tugged back on his arm, but Konan's hand was like a steel vice; he couldn't move.

"Since we're here, how about I teach you the three basic shinobi battle techniques?" said Konan. "Lesson number one: Taijutsu – the art of empty handed combat."

Konan threw his hand to the side, making him spin around until his back was facing her. Then she slapped her open palm into the back of his skull, flying him flying into the ground much like she did earlier. Naruto lifted his head from the grass and pounded his fist furiously. He was not gonna let her get away with this!

Naruto jumped to his feet, rushed back at his instructor, and threw another punch at her head. Konan stopped the punch with her open palm and pushed him back a little. With a frustrated growl, he swung his leg around for a spinning kick, but the blue-haired Jonin casually ducked under the sweep, staying in a crouched position as she watched her student return both feet to the ground. By this point, Naruto was losing all sense of tactic and just wanted to beat the crap out of his instructor. But as he swung around for another punch, he suddenly realized too late that the area he was striking was completely empty. Even if Naruto wasn't the smartest Shinobi, he could tell right away that Konan was crouched behind him; he could feel her breath on his ear, sending a cold shiver running down his spine.

"A shinobi should never allow the enemy to take them from behind multiple times, you fool," whispered Konan.

' _Holy crap, she's good!_ ' thought Fu impressively.

' _Fighting an idiot like Naruto wouldn't be an issue for her,_ ' thought Gaara. ' _But every move she's made has been carefully calculated. She never leaves herself open for Naruto or the rest of us. That means she must be conscious of our whereabouts._

"Are you ready for your punishment, Naruto?" Konan continued to whisper in his ear. "You won't learn your lesson if you're not properly handled."

"W—what are you going to do?" said Naruto. He was so scared of the woman that his body just seemed to freeze up.

"Hmm…there is a technique that the Fifth Hokage created that is said to be the most terrifying technique in human history," said Konan slowly. "A technique so immoral, so horrifying, that the Fifth Hokage banned it usage. Maybe this will teach you to pay attention."

"No, sensei, please," said Naruto, whimpering. "Please, don't, I'll be good – "

"Too late," said Konan darkly, folding her hands into a seal. "Secret Ultimate Taijutsu!"

Naruto had experienced his fair share of painful moments growing up in a village that despised his very existence, but none of it could compare to the unbearably excruciating pain that he flared in his hindquarters. On the positive side, at least he was still alive. Unfortunately, the blonde shinobi was sent rocketing through the air like a bullet that had just left a gun, screaming painfully as he held his butt.

" **ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!** "

For the first time in Gaara's life, he actually got hurt…from slapping himself in the face.

' _How?_ ' thought Gaara, groaning. ' _How has this become my life?_ '

Konan was certainly enjoying herself, laughing freely as Naruto was sent flying into the river, nearly landing on top of Fu as he came crashing down. As for the Waterfall Genin, she accidentally sucked up a large amount of water when she started laughing and flailed her arms towards the surface. She took a deep breath as she breached, coughing a little bit as she waded to the shore. Once her lungs were clear, she started laughing again, slapping the ground repeatedly.

"That's the greatest Jutsu I've ever seen!" chortled Fu. "You've gotta teach me that one!"

"If you pass the exercise, it'll be the first thing you learn," said Konan playfully.

"Yay!" Fu cheered.

' _They're both idiots_ ' Gaara groaned.

Meanwhile, Naruto sank to the bottom of the river like a rock, feel an unusual assortment of pain, humiliation, frustration, and anger. The pain in his butt had subsided very quickly, but there was still the shame of knowing how easily the blue-haired woman had gotten the drop on him. And then she poked him in the butt, god dammit!

' _It wasn't supposed to be this way!_ ' thought Naruto. ' _This can't be how it ends!_ '

* * *

"This…this can't be – " Iruka sputtered. He had laid out all the paperwork of Naruto's team, taking in the information it shared. "It wasn't enough to form a team with just one, but you made an entire team filled with them? Do you understand the dangers of building a with – "

"The Five Kage are fully aware of the threat they might pose, Iruka," Kakashi interrupted him briskly. "We aren't stupid. The Five Kage spent months deliberating on the matter. We hadn't planned on going through with it until Naruto graduated. The timing was perfect – there was never going to be a better moment to bring them together."

"But even so," said Iruka, "what are we going to do if even one of them runs out of control? It will be the Nine-Tailed Fox incident all over again – "

"Calm yourself, Iruka, you look like you're going to have an aneurysm," said Kakashi calmly. "Like I told you, the Five Kage spent months deliberating what to do about this specific team. We have developed countermeasures to ensure that they are contained. That is why we were very particular when it came to choosing their Jonin sensei."

"You mean this Konan woman?" asked Iruka, sliding the file of the blue-haired woman in front. "What makes her so special?"

"Well…let me tell you a little story about Konan…," said Kakashi.

* * *

Fu pulled herself to the shore on all-fours, ready to pounce away the moment Konan took her eyes off. There was a long moment of pause where the two women just stared at one another until something shot out of the river – a pair of shuriken. Konan's eyes followed the flying ninja tools, giving Fu the perfect chance to run away before the Jonin realize what happened. Konan herself didn't need to move as the shuriken flew harmlessly over her shoulders.

Naruto finally breach and pulled himself to the shore, leaning over the rocks and pausing to catch his breath.

"What's the matter?" said Konan tauntingly. "You won't be able to eat lunch if you don't take the bell by noon, which should be about" – she took a moment to consult a pocket watch on the time – "less than two hours from now."

"I know, I know," Naruto whined.

"Huh, you're not very energetic anymore," said Konan, "considering you said that you would be the greatest Hokage in history."

And right at that moment, Naruto's stomach made a loud, grumbling sound, which earned a laugh from Konan. He wasn't the only one; Gaara and Fu's stomach's also felt uncomfortably empty and were voicing their displeasure.

"Damn it!" yelled Naruto. "I can still fight even if I'm hungry!"

' _I stayed up all last night that I didn't even eat dinner,_ ' groaned Gaara. ' _Damn it, if Temari and Kankuro saw me now, they would never let me hear the end of it._ '

"I just got careless earlier!" shouted Naruto as Konan started to walk away. "But…I'm going to take that bell, not matter what…. No matter what…I'm not…going to turn back now! I'm going to be a shinobi!"

The river rippled and suddenly exploded as six orange blurs took to the sky. Konan used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun in the background and make a noise of being mildly impressed. No less than seven exact copies of Naruto were soaring overhead, each one with a confident grin.

"Haha! Security is your greatest enemy!" shouted Naruto. "Now for my favorite Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

' _So he made seven clones; how's that going to help anything – they're just fake images,_ ' thought Fu, until she noticed that each of the clones were dripping water and leaving wet marks in the grass. ' _Wait a minute. Those aren't just images. They're solid clones!_ '

' _Most cloning techniques use the elements as a base to support their structure,_ ' thought Gaara, masking his surprising very well. ' _But shadow clones are composed entirely of chakra. Creating even one shadow clone requires a lot of concentrated energy. Even Jonin level shinobi can make a dozen at most. But for someone like Naruto – a Genin – to make large number of copies at his current level and not even showing signs of exhaustion…. Perhaps there is more to him than I realized._ '

' _Not just clones, but shadow clones,_ ' thought Konan. ' _A highly advanced ninjutsu that even the most potent of the Hidden Leaf shinobi struggle to achieve. Given his history, it makes sense that someone like him would be able to master a Jutsu that requires astronomically large chakra reserves._ '

The blue-haired Jonin gazed around the half circle of Naruto clones, the smile now wiped from her face and replaced with a calculative look.

"Judging from your ability," said Konan thoughtfully, "that Jutsu should have a one-minute limit. Even after all your trash talk, Naruto is still Naruto after all is said and done…. You still can't beat me with that skill."

But even as she said that, Konan heard the bells strapped to her belt jingle and felt a pair of arms wrap around her underarms and pair of legs wrap around her waist like a bony squid. Konan snapped her head over her shoulders and saw the whiskered face of Naruto, grinning mischievously as he pulled at her arms, keeping her hands stretched outward and leaving her front wide open. The other shadow clones then jumped on her limps, fully pinning the blue-haired Jonin in place.

"A shinobi should never allow the enemy to take them from behind," said Naruto sarcastically. "Isn't that what you said, Konan-sensei?"

"How did you get behind me?" asked Konan.

"When I threw those shuriken from the water earlier," Naruto explained, "one of them was actually a shadow clone using a transformation Jutsu. So while you were distracted from the front, I had that one sneak up from behind." One of the shadow clones broke off from the group and started winding up their fist. "Here's one for that attack on my butt earlier!"

' _Wow, so cool!_ ' thought Fu excitedly.

' _So he does have it in him to plan a diversionary tactics,_ ' thought Gaara, even more surprised that he found himself smiling. ' _This guy isn't so bad after all…._ '

The separate Naruto bounced forward and threw his fist at the woman's face, landing a solid strike against her cheek…or at least that's what he thought. The small unit of Naruto's cried out in surprise and jumped away when their Jonin instructor suddenly exploded into a cloud of white, scattering through the air and littering the grass. The Naruto clone army looked up at the shower of white, mouths open dumbfounded, and one even plucked a piece out of the air to examine it.

"Huh?" said Naruto, confused as he flipped it over. "Paper?"

' _Was that a clone made of paper?_ ' thought Fu, surprised. ' _When did she have time to do that?_ '

' _She must have substituted while we were busy hiding,_ ' thought Gaara. ' _She sent the clone out in her place while she remained hidden to gather intel on our techniques and strategies – a commonly used tactic ideal for infiltrating enemy strongholds without the risk of capture. And she used paper as a base…that must mean her ninjutsu specializes in paper-based techniques. Konan-sensei's ploy was a double-edged sword – now I know a little about her and she has learned nothing about me…._ '

"Oh man, this is so lame…," Naruto mumbled, dispelling his shadow clones.

Just then, he saw something glinting out of the corner of his eye. He leaned in closer and saw, right there, lying in the grass underneath a thick tree, was a silver bell.

"No way!" Naruto shouted in surprise, which quickly shifted into a cocky grin. "She must have been in such a hurry to get out of here, she dropped one of the bells. Lucky…."

He dashed over to collect the bell before Konan would realize what had happened, completely overlooking the possibility of any traps like Gaara and Fu were plenty aware of. Just when he was within reach of the trinket, something snapped at his ankle and Naruto suddenly felt his legs being pulled out from under him. He hit the ground hard before he was lifted backwards and suddenly found himself dangling by one of the tree's branches.

"What the hell is this?" cried Naruto.

' _Did he really think a capable Jonin would make such an obvious mistake?_ ' Gaara thought exasperatedly.

He hanging several feet off the ground, Naruto made a valiant effort to reach the bell, which was directly underneath him. Sadly, Konan chose that moment to appear and pick up the bell, dangling it tauntingly right in front of Naruto's face; Naruto tried to swipe at it, but she pulled away.

"You need to think about how you plan to use a Jutsu before you put it into effect," said Konan. "Otherwise, the enemy will turn your advantage into their own. Also…don't get caught up in the obvious traps, you fool." Naruto growled and flailed even harder, reaching for his teacher. "A shinobi must see through deception. That's one of the basic principles of ninjutsu."

"I know that already!" yelled Naruto.

"I'm telling you this because you  _don't,_ " said Konan. "Listen carefully – "

But while Konan went into full teacher mode, Gaara suddenly perked up in his space underneath the dirt. For the first time since the exercise started, Konan had dropped her guard. This was a golden opportunity – he couldn't waste this moment!

" **Sand Impalement Jutsu!** " shouted Gaara.

"Are you listening to me, Naruto," said Konan sternly. "You're too – GURK!"

Konan's voice became lost in her throat and Naruto's eyes became wide as dinner plates, his mouth opened in a silent scream. A pointed pillar of condensed sand had jutted from the ground, entering Konan through the back and exiting between her breasts.


	4. You Fail! Konan's Final Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introduction Arc - End

Naruto screamed; he couldn't help it. What else would you expect after seeing your instructor impaled from behind only feet away from you?

Konan leaned backwards against the pointed pillar of sand that ripped through her back and came out between her breasts, her arms dangling listlessly at her sides and her head lolling sideways; a thin river of blood spilled out of the corner of her parted lips. And a few feet away, Gaara tore his way to the surface from his underground hiding spot, leering at the motionless body of his sensei.

"Goddamn it, Gaara!" Naruto shrieked, flailing his arms. "What the hell is wrong with you? You took it was too far!"

Gaara naturally ignored him. Something just didn't sit right – it was way easier to kill her than he had been led to believe.

He raised his fist and clenched it in the air, commanding the sand pillar to create several spears that ripped through Konan's body like paper; Naruto screamed again, but no one paid him any mind. And just like Gaara had suspected, Konan was paper – her entire body fell and formed a small pile of paper on the grass. Gaara berated himself internally for taking the obvious bait as he pulled himself fully from the ground and stood up, looking around the air for any signs of the blue-haired Jonin.

"Damn it! Another paper clone," said Gaara. "She opened her guard to lure me into attacking, no doubt to assess my abilities. She's always three steps ahead."

"H-Hey, Gaara, mind helping me down here?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Help yourself," said Gaara rudely before bounding into the forest.

"Aw, what the hell, you jerk!" yelled Naruto, waving his fist furiously at his backside. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna kick your ass! "He slowly spun around by the motion of the rope when he saw his only remaining salvation poking her head out of a bush near the edge of the forest. "Fu! Fu! Hey! C'mon, let me down from here! The blood is starting to rush to my head!"

"Okay! I'll be right over in a min – " Fu started to step out of the bushes, when she suddenly stopped, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "…You know, now that I think about it…."

"Um, Fu, what're you thinking about?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"With you out of the way, Gaara is my only competition," said Fu, rubbing her chin. "That increases my odd of getting a bell by like…sixty percent of something like that; I don't know, I suck at math. But either way, as long as you're stuck here, my chances just got better. Hang in there, Naruto – Hah! See what I did there? Ah, classic…"

"Wait, Fu!" cried Naruto, but she was already gone. "Ugh! Damn it! Fine! I'll get myself down!"

It took a bit of struggling considering he was upside down, but Naruto managed to reach for his pouch and grab a kunai, with which he reached up and cut the snare of the rope. He flipped in an overdramatic fashion and landed in a crouched position. Naruto grinned at his own personal victory…until another rope trap sprung up around his ankles, putting him right back where he started.

"I fell for it again!" cried Naruto.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fu was racing through the forest at blinding speeds, blasting through the shrubs and the tree like they weren't even there; twigs and leaves brushed off her brush without leaving so much as a scratch. The girl from the Hidden Waterfall knew she didn't have the talent for ninjutsu like teammates, but when it came to physical capabilities, she was leagues ahead of both of them. And from watching her fight with Naruto, Fu could see through her sensei's skills.

"She understands a basic set of Taijutsu, but nothing too spectacular," Fu said to herself. "If it were to come down to a one-on-one fight, I would definitely win. Now the only thing I have to worry about is her ninjutsu."

As she was running, she saw something blue straight ahead and ducked down behind the nearest bush. Cautiously poking her head around, she had correctly guessed that Konan was only a few feet away, her back turned towards Fu, appearing to be distracted by something in the opposite direction.

"Phew, I'm safe," whispered Fu. "It doesn't look like she's noticed me. This could be my best chance. While she's not looking, I'll sneak up behind her and snatch the bell. You are such a genius, Fu."

"I think there might be a slight flaw in your plan."

"What're you talking about? It's fool – "

Fu stopped mid-sentence as she turned and realized that the very person she was trying to hide from was crouched directly behind her. The Waterfall Genin screamed in surprise and, out of a natural survivor's instinct, planted her hands on the ground and lift her legs for a sweeping kick aimed at Konan's head. The Jonin Instructor raised her arms to block the blow, but realized her mistake too late when Fu's foot made contact with her forearm and send her sliding across the forest, barely staying on her feet, until her back hit a tree. Konan hissed and winced as she looked at her arm; an ugly purplish-blue bruise was starting to swell under her skin. She looked directly across as Fu flipped back up to her feet, taking a stance most common to Hidden Water Taijutsu.

"I read the reports that you were strong," said Konan, sounding impressed. "But they clearly undersold your talents. I'll have to be careful from now on."

As she said this, Konan's right hand became enveloped in a minty-green glow and rested her palm on the bruise. When she pulled back a moment later, the swelling had completely vanished.

' _She knows medical ninjutsu on top of everything else,_ ' thought Fu. ' _Seriously, how many jutsus does she have? She's totally overpowered!_ '

"So what was you plan again?" asked Konan in a taunting sort of way. "Snuck up behind me and snatch the bells while I wasn't looking? Don't tell me you're afraid to come at me."

"Like hell I am!" said Fu, cracking her knuckles. "I gonna kick your ass and then I'm gonna take those bells off your battered body."

"Big talk from a flat chested tomboy," said Konan, smirking.

"You bitch!" roared Fu.

She didn't even have a plan in mind when she charged straight at the blue-haired Jonin, her fist pulled back with an outrageous war cry. But before the Waterfall Genin came close, Konan weaved a quick hand sign. Fu couldn't tell what it was used for, but that didn't matter much to her at this point. Once she reached within hitting range, she threw her fist around in a spiraling motion and slammed her knuckles into the bridge of Konan's nose…before she exploded into a cloud of leaves.

Fu stood there rooted to her spot, fist held aloft and her wide eyes.

"Huh?" Fu stammered, snapping her head back and forth, looking very confused. "What was that? Huh? Hold on! Where's sensei! Huh? What's going on? Huh? What's what?"

"You look a little lost there." Fu flipped around; she spotted Konan leaning against a tree in the opposite direction. "Are you sure you can handle this on your own? There's no shame I asking for help?"

"I can kick your ass by myself!" shouted Fu. She rushed forward and performed a flying kick; Konan once again exploded in a cloud of leaves and the tree she was leaning on toppled over by the strength of Fu's kick. "Ugh! Will you stop running away? How am I supposed to kick your butt if you keep moving?"

"Sure, I'll just stand right here," said Konan, sitting lazily against a tree root.

Fu bounced forward and slammed the ground with her fist, but the blue-haired Jonin exploded into leaves yet again.

"No, I'm over here," called Konan, sitting on a tree branch; Fu threw an explosive tag at it, but yielded the same result.

"No, over here!"

"No, here!"

"Hey, over here!"

Fu stepped backward and turned around in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree angle, taking in the sight of literally a hundred Konan's suddenly popping up out of nowhere. They were sitting in the trees, leaning against bushes, standing on the trunks, crouching on the ground, and generally covering the enter forest greenery with a sea of blue. They were all calling out to Fu simultaneously, their voices overlapping each other like a never-ending echo. Fu held her head in her hands, her eyes screwed up and her teeth gritting, trying to block out the sounds of her Jonin sensei to no avail. The Konan clone army was moving in on her; they were surrounding her from all sides; their voices chattering in her ears.

Fu enraged screams echoed throughout the forest, carried through the wind.

Meanwhile, Konan stood on a tree branch high above the scene, looking down at Fu standing in the middle of an empty clearing as she started throwing her fists as an invisible enemy.

"Maybe I went a little overboard on this one," said Konan thoughtfully. "Oh well, this is just another lesson she needs to learn if she wants to be a kunoichi….

* * *

Gaara, who had been wandering the forest aimlessly, suddenly turned around as he heard a scream coming from deep within the trees.

' _That voice just now_ ,' thought Gaara. ' _Was that fu?_ '

"Shinobi battle techniques number two: Genjutsu - the art of illusions," said Konan, suddenly appearing behind the Sand Genin; he wouldn't have even noticed if not for the jingling of the bells on her waist. "Both Naruto and Fu rely heavily on ninjutsu and taijustu respectively that they leave themselves vulnerable to the effects. It will be a while before she realizes she's been tricked."

"I'm not surprised in the least," said Gaara coldly. "Naruto is an idiot and Fu is a blind fool. But me…I'm different from those imbeciles."

"Yes, it's true that when it comes to raw talent, you stand above both of them," said Konan, nodded. "But that won't mean anything if you can't take the bell from me…Gaara-kun."

The Genin of the Hidden Sand turned around slowly, facing his instructor that stood only several feet away. They just stood them, silently staring and judging. In days past, Gaara would have just killed his target and be done with it, but this woman was different – she had always thought ahead and had a plan prepared to everything they threw at her. It was the first time in Gaara's life that he didn't feel like victory was an absolute certainty, and that unsettled him more than Konan herself.

His hand moved cautiously to the neck of his ground, pausing when his fingers brushed the cork. Konan did not move. Humming with uncertainty, he pulled the cork off….

Suddenly, a steady stream of pale grains flew from the opening and circled around him – sand, Konan was able to assess. Without even a word, the sand surged towards the Jonin's direction, blasting at the ground with enough force to make the nearby trees tremble, but Konan flipped backwards away to safety.

"So that's the infamous sand technique I've heard so much about," said Konan with a cunning smirk. "Able to manipulate billions of tiny grains with only your thoughts all the while not using any of your chakra. It's a pretty handy skill, but it's useless if all you're using it for is straightforward attacks."

Just as she was about to touch the ground, Gaara clenched his fist and raised it to the sky. A spear of sand ripped through the ground and shot skywards to impale the Jonin much like it had done earlier. Konan frowned; she quickly reached out to touch the side of the spear with her palm, using it as leverage to pull herself out of the projectile's path. She landed safely on the ground in a crouched position and brought up a piece of paper folded into a shuriken. She threw the paper star and watched it curve around so that it would fly into Gaara's back, but just as she had expected, the sand curled around behind him and swallowed her paper shuriken whole.

"And there is the infamous Sand Shield," said Konan, standing up straight. "Said to be the ultimate defense in the Shinobi world. Is it true that the shield activates regardless of your will?"

"If you already know the answer, then what is the point in asking?" said Gaara, narrowing his eyes.

"It's called being polite," said Konan; Gaara made a noise in the back of his throat. "My, my, so serious. What is your father teaching you?"

"I couldn't give a damn about my father," said Gaara.

"I imagine you wouldn't; he's not exactly the world's best dad," said Konan. "If he was a better father, he would have told you about your shield's biggest weakness."

"What are you talking about?" growled Gaara. "The Sand Shield has no weakness."

"Oh, but it does," said Konan confidently. "One huge, glaring weakness that would make your Sand Shield vulnerable to a lot of enemies who are smart enough to figure it out…. Wanna know what it is?"

* * *

Naruto was still hanging from the tree branch where Konan and his teammates left him, but surprisingly enough, the orange-clad boy looked composed. He had his arms crossed and his head down (or up, rather) as he hummed in thought. Konan had already whooped his ass properly – he wasn't going to deny it – and it was unlikely that Gaara and Fu were ever going to come back for him. He need to start thinking of a plan….

Something caught Naruto's eye just then, something he hadn't noticed before.

Even though they were in the middle of a dense forest, there was a large polished stone on top of a concrete pedestal surrounded by a brick footpath and a flagpole behind it. It looked like some kind of monument.

"Kind of a weird place to be putting something like that here…," Naruto mumbled until he spotted something sitting underneath the monument. "Oh! There are lunch boxes on that stone! Okay, Konan-sensei, you want a plan, well, I got one for ya."

* * *

"I'll acknowledge that you're different from Naruto and Fu," said Konan, "but you still can't win a bell off of me, especially now that I know your weakness."

"What nonsense do you keep spouting?" asked Gaara, leering. "What weakness are you talking about?"

With a confident smirk, Konan raises her hands to where Gaara could see them and performs a quick series of hand signs.

"Dragon – Tiger – Hare!" shouted Konan. " **Water Release: Wild Water Wave!** "

Gaara fidgeted, his body stiffening up; he was not expecting his Jonin Instructor to pull out any techniques other than paper-based ones. But Konan puffed up her cheeks and immediately expelled a powerful stream of compressed water toward her student. The Sand Shield naturally comes to his defense, compressing into a strong wall between him and the water blast. When the water technique makes contact with the Sand Shield, it hits the grains with enough force to make it cave inward slightly, but still holds together.

Konan does not relent in the face of the Sand Shield; if anything, she seemed to make the stream thinner, increasing the pressure by several times. Gaara grunts as the water pounds against his shield mercilessly, giving him no chance to form a counterattack. He figured that Konan would eventually run out of chakra and he would strike the moment she let her guard down when he noticed something he had never seen before: the was a huge wet spot swelling up on his side of the Sand Shield. Gaara leaned in close to examine it, which ultimately proved to be a mistake.

Before Gaara could realize what happened, the water blast finally rips through his shield and drills him directly in the face. The Sand Genin is thrown to the ground on his side; the Sand Shield crumbles away. Once her student was down, Konan cancelled out her technique. She walked slowly over to him as Gaara sat up on his knees, his hand reaching to the spot where the water struck him, eyes wide and trembling.

"And that is Shinobi battle techniques number three: Ninjutsu," said Konan. "But I don't really need to explain that one."

"I've…been hit," said Gaara slowly. "But how…?"

"Your technique is powerful, but sand is still sand," said Konan knowingly. "When sand becomes exposed to water or any other liquid-based materials like oil, it becomes adhesive and crumbles away much easier."

Not wanting to believe her, Gaara threw up his hand and commanded the sand to strike her. However, the wet sand only reached halfway towards its target before it fell apart and clumped uselessly on the grass.

"You've never been exposed to this type of vulnerability before, having lived in the desert your whole life," said Konan. "You may think you're invisible, but the fact of the matter is that anyone with a strong water jutsu could easily destroy your so-called ultimate defense. It'll be a couple of hours before you're able to use your sand again. And without it…you're just as useless as Naruto.

Gaara gritted his teeth, somehow angrier about being compared to Naruto than losing to his instructor. In his angered state, Gaara acted desperately and grabbed a fist full of dirt before throwing it at Konan's face. The blue-haired woman threw up her arms to protect herself and when she lowered them, Gaara was gone. Konan laughed amusingly.

"Huh, I think this is the first time anyone has ever seen that kid in such a dire state," said Konan. "I must be fortunate. Now…I wonder what the others are up to…."

* * *

It took a lot of doing, but Naruto finally figured out his way out of the rope snare. He had taken shelter behind the monument and had the lunchboxes sitting right in front of him, just waiting to be eaten.

"Now I don't have to go running around chasing those dumb bells," said Naruto proudly. "I'll just eat in secret right now. I'm a genius!"

"Genius might be a little much."

Naruto stiffened in fear; Konan was crouched directly above him.

"Uh…I was joking?" Naruto laughed nervously.

"Nice try."

* * *

Half a mile south of the starting point, Gaara's head breached the ground. His mind was still fresh from what happened. Even after observing her fights with Naruto and Fu, Konan still managed to outsmart him, even pointing out a vulnerability in his Sand Shield that even he wasn't aware of. He didn't go into the fight believing that it would be easy, but he didn't think there was a possibility of him ever losing, not when he had been killing Jonin since he was six.

' _Damn it!_ ' thought Gaara. " _I never thought there would be someone more powerful than myself._ '

Gaara started to wiggling himself out of the ground when he heard an irritated voice from nearby accompanied by a series of snaps and creaks; someone was literally ripping through the forest.

"I can't believe she tricked me with a genjutsu! When I find Konan-sensei, I'm kick my foot so far up her – "

Fu entered the clearing where Gaara was and paused in her tracks. She and Gaara exchanged looks; the boy's body was still buried underneath the ground.

"…Fu?" said Gaara slowly.

"Oh, I get it, this is another one of your tricks, huh, Konan-sensei!" yelled Fu, marching heavy-footed over to him. "Well, I'm not gonna fall for your stupid illusions again – "

She tried to kick Gaara's face, but his Sand Shield exploded from the ground underneath her, fling Fu up into the air by several before she came crashing down on top of her head. Gaara watched with a blank stare as the mint-haired girl fell over into a fetal position while holding her head where the swelling was forming.

"This is my teammate…?" said Gaara drearily, pulling the rest of himself out of the ground. "Get up, you idiot, I'm not a genjutsu."

"Oh, I guess it is you," said Fu, wincing as she held her head and rose to her feet. "I guess I should have figured as much. Konan-sensei probably would have given you eyebrows if you were an illusion.

"What is with your obsession over my eyebrows?" Gaara questioned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know what? I don't care. I've already had enough bad experiences for one day."

"Let me guess," said Fu. "Konan-sensei kicked your ass."

"As much as I hate to admit it…yes," said Gaara, clutching the fabric of his sleeve. "She knows everything about us and we know nothing about her. She has always managed to stay ahead and we can't even touch her. And on top of that, it's getting closer to noon. We don't have a whole lot of time before we fail."

"Ugh, dammit, I hate this!" Fu whined, stomping her fete childishly. "She can't just send us back to school. I don't wanna go back home!"

"Did you say you love your village yesterday?" said Gaara. "What's the problem if you go back?"

"If I go back to thue Hidden Waterfall, I'll never get to leave again," said Fu, frowning. "You see, my big brother is the leader of our village and he's way overprotective. He never lets me leave the boarder of the village, and if I do leave, I always have guards with me, so I don't get to go whenever I want. So when our village was invited to join the Selection, I begged my big brother for weeks to let me go. He gave up eventually – I can be pretty annoying when I want to be."

"You really wanted to leave your village that badly?" asked Gaara.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my village," said Fu with a small, almost watery smile. "But I've been cooped up for so long that it's starting to feel like a prison. I want to stay on this team so I can explore new places and make tons of friends. And…I want to prove to my big brother that I can take care of myself."

Gaara's expression betrayed no emotion, but you could tell that he was in deep thought as he stared at his teammate.

"What about you, Gaara?" Fu suddenly spun around and asked. "Don't you have something you want to do while you're here? Something you can't do at home?"

Gaara only remained silent, whether as a way of ignoring her or if he genuinely didn't have an answer was unknown. But he was spared any chance of answering when a shrill noise echoed through the trees, making their hearts drop.

It was noon – time was up.

* * *

No one was truly surprised when they returned to the starting point of the survival exercise and found Naruto tied to the middle post. If anything, they had all been expecting the outcome. Gaara and Fu had taken seats on the ground, their exhaustion showing as they carelessly discarded their carrying items. And to make matters worse, their stomach made painful growling noises as one.

"Wow, your stomach sure are noisy today," said Konan jokingly. "By the way, about this exercise…. Well, I've decided that there's no need to for any of your to be sent back to the academy."

"Wha…really?" asked Naruto hopefully. Konan nodded and he cheered, waving his legs. "All right! I'm not going to be sent back! I knew I had what it took to be a shinobi!"

"As to be expected," said Fu, crossing her arms and nodding her head like she had known all along. "Obviously what happened was that sensei saw my amazing skills and knew I was too good to be sent back."

' _I highly doubt that's the case,_ ' thought Gaara suspiciously. ' _None of us could touch her and she's suddenly letting us pass? There must be a catch._ '

"So then this means the three of us are…?" said Naruto excitedly.

"Yep," said Konan with a wide smile. "It means you three…are being dropped as shinobi!"

It was as if someone had inflated a balloon in their stomach, only to pop it a moment later. Naruto and Fu's revelry came to a crashing halt, their faces stricken with horror and Gaara's fist clenched on his lap. And all they could ask themselves now was: How could it have ended like this?"

* * *

"N-No way," Iruka stuttered as Kakashi poured himself another cup of tea. "If what you said is true, then is it really safe to let her teach as a Jonin. Never mind the fact that her students are – "

"Konan has a dark and murky past, but so do many shinobi," Kakashi interrupted him. "What's important is that she was able to pull herself out of the darkness that threatened to swallow her and is working towards a better path. She enlisted as an instructor because she truly believes that the International Selection is the key to establishing peaceful relationships between nations. That way no one else will have to experience what she went through. She's a good woman, Iruka – the Five Kage have complete faith in her judgment."

"But with something like this…"

"Iruka…," said Kakashi in a low voice. "You are focusing on the wrong thing here. We chose Konan to be this specific team's instructor because she could restrain them if necessary, but it is not the only reason. With Konan, she isn't looking for strong shinobi. She's looking for something more worthwhile…"

* * *

"What do you mean we're being dropped as shinobi?" cried Naruto. "I mean, yeah, it's true we couldn't get the bells from you, but why does that mean we have to be dropped?"

"That's because you're all children who don't have the qualifications necessary to become shinobi," said Konan. "You three are nothing but brats playing pretend." – Gaara sneered, but made no move against her, so Konan pressed on – "Did you really think that being a shinobi would be so easy? Well, did you? Then tell me, what do you think is the purpose of bringing Genin from nations so different in ethics and culture together as part of teams?"

"Um…because of international cooperation?" said Fu uncertainly.

"Exactly," said Konan, nodding. "The Fourth Hokage created the International Selection as a way of creating unity among the nations. He drew the idea when he underwent this specific test as a Genin himself. I know this because the Fourth Hokage and I both shared the same teacher, who taught us through this same method. If you had figured that out for yourself, you might have come up with the answer that would have allowed you to pass."

"You wanted us to work together as a team," said Gaara, earning everyone's attention. "It makes sense when you say it so clearly. Each of us possesses unique talents that have both strengths and weaknesses. Naruto has his shadow clones to create an instant army useful for distraction, but he lacks both strength and proper planning. Fu, on the other hand, has physical superiority over the rest of us, but she was easily defeated by a Genjutsu when she went in alone. And as for me, my sand can attack from long range, but you've already proven it has a vulnerability and without it, I'm fairly helpless on my own. We all make up each other's flaws."

"That's right, but it's too late even if you realize it now," said Konan. "If all three of you had come at me as a unit, you might have been able to take one of the bells. Well, it's unfortunate that things turned out this way…."

"Hey…wait a minute," said Fu slowly. "Why would you have us work together if you only had two bells? If the three of us were to desperately go take the bells with one having to hold back, then there's no way we would have worked together. All that would do is have us fighting over who would be the one drawing the short straw."

"Of course!" said Konan. "The whole purpose of the test was to see if you could put aside your own petty differences for the sake of your teammates. If you become shinobi, you will be pressed into a number of situations where your own interests aren't the issue. Similarly, the intention of the International Selection was to see if the nations could put aside decades of war to form stable relations that will benefit the many over the few. But despite this, you fools….

"Fu!" She flinched at the harsh mention of her name. "You were so focused on your own personal gain that you were willing to leave a teammate in trouble!"

"Naruto!" He cringed, biting the insides of his cheeks. "You are always going about things your own way, not even considering that your rash actions were interfering with your teammate's progress!"

"And Gaara!" He narrowed his eyes. "You considered the other two a hindrance and acted on your own, not even running to them when you knew that you were incapable of fighting any further!"

"Missions are carried out in squads!" Konan continued harshly. "There's no mistake that shinobi need surpassing individual skills, but teamwork is considered much more important than that. Individual actions that disrupt teamwork throw the teams into crisis and lead to death."

"But what's the point of even working together?" asked Gaara. "We're not from the same village, and we're barely acquaintances. The last time the villages attempted the International Selection, it fell apart because one man died. The five Great Shinobi Villages have always been at war with one another, whether it's for land or resources. We all know it's only a matter of time before war breaks out again, so why bother with it?"

"That's a problem that every team in this program is forced to face," said Konan with a sullen look. "As I said, the International Selection was created to prevent war, but there is some truth to your words. Shinobi villages have been at war since the establishment of shinobi itself. And I also know from personal experience that teamwork and friendship are just as painful as war."

"What do you mean?" asked Fu.

"You see, I didn't grow up in a shinobi village like the rest of you," said Konan. "I was an orphan who lost her parents during the Second Shinobi World War. I wandered alone for who knows how long until I met my friends, Yahiko and Nagato. They were everything to me. And then we stumbled across our master, a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, who took us in and trained us in the art of ninjutsu. When we were strong enough to take care of ourselves, we went to the village and attempted to start a revolution – a way to make things better for our small nation that had been a victim to the power of the larger shinobi villages. And for a while, it worked…."

"But things didn't go well, did they?" said Gaara.

"The leader of the Hidden Rain, Hanzo, was a paranoid man who believed we were trying to usurp his power," Konan continued. "He tricked us into believing that we could work together to achieve peace with the other nations and we foolishly believed him. Hanzo took me by surprised and took me hostage. He gave Nagato an ultimatum: kill Yahiko or I die."

There was an unsettling silence in the field with only the breath of the wind to break it.

"And…what happened?" asked Fu hesitantly.

"…Yahiko was always a kindhearted man who always put his friends before himself," said Konan with a watery smile. "He was such an idiot, but that was one of the many reasons why I loved him. He refused to let Nagato live with the pain of killing his friend, so he took his own life instead. I watched it happen right in front of me – he was smiling until the very end…that fool."

None of the Genin had anything to say, not even Gaara. Their heads were all hanging in sadness, not even able to comprehend the kind of despair their sensei must have gone through to watch someone they love die like that. Fu rubbed her arm uncomfortably, Naruto hanged his head with a furrowed brow, and Gaara close his eyes respectfully.

"He was faced with an impossible choice and ended up being killed," Konan continued, her voice barely a whisper. "That's the life a shinobi leads. Every mission is a risk that could end up killing you or someone you know. Just like the names on that memorial behind us." She gestured to the rock only a few yards away from them. "You might not know this, Naruto, but that memorial is a testament to the thousands of men and women who died giving their lives to protect this village. They are heroes, just like Yahiko was."

"I…I never knew that," murmured Naruto.

"After Yahiko died," said Konan, "there was a massive civil war to decide the fate of the Hidden Rain and its political future. Nagato lead the fight against Hanzo and finally drove him out of the Hidden Rain. After that, we had established a democracy where the people would be given the right to choose who would lead them. They wanted Nagato to lead, but he turned it down and went on a journey of self-reflection. And when they asked me to do it…well, I don't think I could stay there for much longer; too many painful memories. Maybe that's the reason why I decided to join this program…."

"Sensei…" Fu muttered sadly.

"…. You know what?" said Konan suddenly. "I'm going to give you three another chance. However, after noon, it'll be a harsher battle to take the bells. Those who want to take on the challenge can eat lunch. However, Naruto is not allowed to eat."

"What? Why?" whined Naruto.

"Consider it punishment for breaking the rules and attempting to eat lunch on your own," said Konan severely, casting a menacing look over the Genin. "If anyone gives Naruto even the tiniest bite of rice, that person will be disqualified on the spot."

"But you just told us we needed teamwork to win," said Fu.

"And now I'm saying if you help Naruto, you're out," said Konan in a low voice. "I'm the one making the rules here, got it?

* * *

"I must be going," said Iruka, standing up from his seat.

"Listen to me, Iruka," said Kakashi, causing the scarred man pause. "I know you care about Naruto, but he's not your students any more. Have faith in Konan and her judgment."

"…Yes, sir," Iruka conceded, bowing respectfully.

* * *

It was a lot more difficult to eat when Naruto's stomach was constantly growling in your ear, as Gaara and Fu quickly discovered.

Their Jonin instructor had left them alone ten minutes ago, promising to restart the survival exercise again when she returned in half an hour. The lunch that Konan had bought for them was a simple rice and vegetable one – not much in the way of energy building, but it was enough to quell the uncomfortable pains in their stomachs. They had hoped they would be able to eat peacefully while they thought up a plan to work together on defeating Konan, but….

"So, if Naruto goes in first with his shadow clones – " Fu was cut off by yet another squeak of Naruto's stomach. "Goddamn it, Naruto, we trying to have a strategy meeting here!"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Naruto retorted. "I'm super hungry! It's not fair that you get to eat and not me!"

"That's what you get for breaking the rules," said Fu, pointing her chopsticks at him.

Naruto opened his mouth to complain, but his stomach growled and found himself too weak to say anything more. Gaara, who had been silent for most of the conversation while only adding it one of two ideas, closed his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. He then raised the lunch box to Naruto's face. The orange-clad boy stared at the lunch in disbelief; Fu silently wondered if there were any pigs flying over the Hidden Leaf.

"Here, take it," said Gaara nonchalantly.

"H-Hey, Gaara!" said Fu, looking around wildly. "We can't. Konan-sensei said – "

"It's fine; I stopped detecting her presence five minutes ago," said Gaara in a monotonous drone. "Don't mistake my intentions as an act of friendship. Konan-sensei is too powerful for any of us to take on alone, so the best option is to work together as a team. But all our efforts will be useless if one of us is too weak from starvation. So…hurry up and eat already."

"Gaara…," said Naruto softly.

"Don't get all emotional," said Gaara, turning his head away. "Just eat so we can plan without your stomach interrupting us."

"I mean, I'd like to, but…," said Naruto hesitantly, "my hands are kinda tied up. I can't move."

"Geez, the things I do for you boys," said Fu lightly.

The Genin from the Hidden Waterfall stood up and picked up a piece of the rice from Gaara's box with her chopsticks. She held it up to Naruto for him to eat, but the Leaf Genin was too stunned by the sight to respond properly.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Fu curiously. "You don't like it?"

"N-no, that's not it," stammered Naruto. "It's just…you're feeding me…."

"You should feel very lucky that a pretty girl is willing to feed you," said Fu proudly. "You'll probably never get another chance like this in your life."

"Would you quit fooling around," said Gaara in annoyance. "We don't know how long until sensei comes back."

Naruto felt like he was on cloud nine. He had never had any friends growing up hated by the village, now he had two (maybe) friends and a girl feeding him (granted she looked closer to a boy, but he wasn't going to say anything at the risk of being pummeled). He happily opened his mouth as Fu held out the tiny piece of rice…

But someone else ate it before him.

"Mmm, I will say one thing about the Hidden Leaf," said Konan delightfully, "they sure know how to make quality rice."

Gaara jumped to his feet as he and Fu jumped away, dropping their lunch boxes on the ground while Naruto flailed on the post, screaming in surprise. Without any of them realizing it, Konan had somehow managed to plant herself directly between them, leaning against Naruto's post and she savored the rice she so rudely took from her student. Once she gulped it down, she cast her gaze over Gaara and Fu, both looking incredibly guilty now.

"So…," said Konan. "You decided to disobey my clear instructions and broke the rules. You know what's coming next, don't you…?"

The training grounds suddenly felt very heavy; the air seemed to thin and it became hard to breath. Fu started coughing as he lungs seemed to lose breath and Gaara felt weak at the knees, holding his chest as he dropped into a kneeling stance. Naruto didn't seem affected by whatever jutsu Konan was casting on them. He trembled in fear from being so close to Konan, but when Fu dropped to her knees holding her throat and Gaara fell on all fours, he didn't seem as concerned for himself any more.

"Hey, leave them alone!" Naruto yelled, kicking his legs furiously. "I'm the one who begged them to feed me! Leave them alone and punish me instead!"

"D-don't you dare take the blame…Naruto," Fu wheezed, managing a weak glare up at Konan."I'm the one who fed him…. If anyone's going to be punished…it's going to be me…."

"They're both wrong…," said Gaara, struggling to raise his head. "It was my idea…to feed Naruto in the first place. They were just…going along with what I said. I deserve whatever punishment you have."

"Do you realize what you all are saying," said Konan in a low voice. "You're risking your future's defending a worthless brat. Why?"

"Because…it's the right thing to do…," said Fu weakly.

"Because…he's our teammates…," said Gaara, grimacing.

"Because they don't deserve to have their dreams crushed because of me," said Naruto determinedly.

"Well…if that's the case," said Konan, looking them over with a careful eye. "Then the only thing I have left to say is…. Congratulations. You three pass."

Whatever jutsu that Konan had cast disappeared in an instantly and Gaara and Fu found themselves able to breath normally again. Although this probably didn't register in their minds as they and Naruto were staring wide-eyed at Konan, who had the biggest smile plastered across her face.

"…. Huh?" said Naruto with uncertainty.

"You pass," Konan repeated happily.

"But-but-but," Fu sputtered. "What do you mean? We passed? Why?"

"For a moment there, I was worried you wouldn't get it," said Konan. "Anyone else would have done what I said and sold out their teammate to save themselves. That would have been the wrong thing to do?"

"You were trying to test us again," Gaara realized. "You made up more rules that would have tested our teamwork. If we hadn't fed Naruto…."

"Then you would have failed the exercise twice," said Konan. "A shinobi should never fall for the obvious traps. The rules I gave you contradicted my speech about teamwork and unity. No matter what happens, a team always needs to stick together. Every ninja who had followed the rules before failed because they only thought of themselves. But you three didn't – you chose to risk your future's for the sake of a friend."

"Friend might be going a little too far – " said Gaara.

"Oh, shut up, Gaara!" snapped Fu.

"I can't truly say if your intentions were selfless or not," said Konan, "but the fact of the matter is you put yourselves on the line for the sake of another. In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are branded as garbage, but I believe that those who don't cherish their friends are garbage worse than that. And I promise you, as long as I am your sensei, I will devote my life to each of you. Because you're not just my students – you're my precious friends."

"You know…," said Naruto, looking ready to cry at any moment, "she's actually…kinda cool."

"That's it for the exercise; you all pass," said Konan proudly. "We'll start our first mission tomorrow!"

"Yes, sensei!" Fu cheered.

"I did it!" Naruto cried happily. "I'm a shinobi! I really did it!"

"This calls for a celebration," said Konan. "I found this amazing barbecue restaurant in town. Lunch is on me!"

Fu bounced up to her feet, pumping her fists into the air in celebration. Gaara grunted with a little effort as he stood up; if one looked close enough, they could see the smallest hint of a smile starting to form.

Together, the team of Konan, Gaara, and Fu left the training grounds in higher spirits…not even realizing they had left Naruto tied to the post until after they had paid the check.

"God dammit! I knew this was how it was gonna end!" screamed Naruto, kicking his legs in a pointless struggle. "Someone come back and untie meeeeee!"


	5. Journey to the Land of Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Land of Snow Arc- start

The forests of the Hidden Leaf stretched for miles on end, as if the meaning behind its name wasn't obvious. Usually, the woodlands were peaceful and quiet with only the chirps of the birds and the chattering of the animals to break the monotony. But today, if you listen carefully, you could hear the rustling of leaves on the ground or the creaking of branches from above.

And then, a brief moment of static, followed by a softly spoken voice.

"Gaara here at point B. Target spotted seven meters away."

"Fu here at point C. Target spotted four meters away."

A short paused filled the air.

"Naruto here. I'm at point A. Target five meters away."

"You're slow, Naruto," said Konan over the radio communications. "All right, Team Konan, be ready to – hm?"

There was a sudden flash of movement between the trees; a shadowy beast lurched through the branches, landing securely on the ground and making a break through the bushes.

"The target has moved! Stop it!" shouted Konan urgently.

Before the shadowy beast could run far, a wall of sand suddenly emerged directly in its path, cutting the creature off. The beast hissed and started scampering in the opposite direction, when something heavy dropped from above, smashing a hole in the ground and sending dirt flying in every direction. The shadowy creature quickly backpedaled and started running the only unobstructed path open to it between the trees. But just as it started to leap towards freedom, a boy in eye-burning orange clothes suddenly jumped out from behind the trees and snatched the beast out of the air, wrapping his arms around its midsection.

"I got him!" shouted Naruto. "You won't get away this time, you stupid cat!"

The cat hissed and flailed, taking a swipe at Naruto with its claws.

It wasn't the first time that their team had to capture this particular cat. It the past three weeks since their team had formed, Naruto, Gaara, and Fu had to go out into the wildness and hunt down the same cat seven times, each venture becoming more difficult as the cat seemed to learn from each encounter. But most of all, it seemed to have a particular hatred of Naruto. Whenever they met each other, whether it was during a capture mission or just a random encounter in the street, Naruto always left with a few new scratches on his face. His teammates didn't seem that interested in helping him either; Fu was sitting on the sidelines laughing as the cat started kicking him in the teeth and Gaara stood away so he could radio their teacher in peace.

"Does he have the ribbon on his right ear?" asked Konan. "Are you sure it's our target, Tora?"

"It's the same cat, Konan-sensei," said Gaara monotonously. "It's always been the same cat."

"All right, the mission to capture the lost pet 'Tora' is complete," said Konan.

"Why are we stuck doing these stupid missions?!" Naruto screamed as loudly as he could over the radio. The outburst not only knocking Konan off her feet, but even temporarily stunning Gaara and Fu. "When are we going to do a mission with a greater sense of urgency?!"

* * *

Roughly twenty minutes and several bandages later, Team Konan marched back to the mission center, which, for some reason, took place inside Hidden Leaf Academy. How Naruto never noticed this in all the years he had been a student, he will never know, but nonetheless, the Hokage was waiting for them along with Iruka, and quite possibly the scariest woman in all of the Hidden Leaf. Wild, unmanageable purple hair and an open trench coat with mesh underclothes that left little to the imagination; a mixture of seduction and danger. Naruto was familiar with the Hokage's lover, Anko Mitarashi, and he would do anything to forget.

But there was one bright spot: when they returned the demon cat known as Tora, Naruto could not hide his delight as it's chubby owner – the wife of the nation's daimyo – smushed her face against the cat's, practically crushing the feline. And even when the cat cried out for freedom, no one moved to rescue it, let alone Team Konan.

"Serves him right, that stupid cat," Naruto laughed wickedly.

"No wonder he keeps running away," said Fu, cringing at the spectacle. "I kinda almost wish we didn't catch him. Almost."

"Even I almost feel bad for it," said Gaara.

"Nice work out there,  _boys_ ," said Anko with a wicked smile, stressing the word 'boys' because she knew it would irritate Fu and there was nothing she could do about it. "This time it only took you three hours to catch him. I think you're training is finally starting to come in handy. Now, the next missions available for Joint Team Konan is" – she ruffled through the papers on the table, her finger tracing down the list of jobs available – "running errands in to the neighboring town…babysitting the chief councilor's son…helping with digging for potatoes…."

"No way!" shouted Naruto, crossing his arms to emphasis his point. "No! No, thank you! I'm tired of doing these lame missions! I want to do something more exciting! Give us something else!"

"I agree," said Gaara. "We're wasting our talents on these menial tasks."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Naruto is right for once," said Fu, flailing her arms exaggeratedly. "I mean, come on! What kind of ninjas do jobs like these? Catch cats, delivering laundry, cleaning attics! These are just stupid jobs that people are too lazy to do themselves."

" _I thought it was getting close to time when they would start to get agitated,_ ' thought Konan with a heavy sigh. ' _Why did I have to end up with the team of troublemakers?_ '

"You idiot!" yelled Iruka, slamming his hands on the desk. "You're still just novice shinobi! At the start, everyone moves up the ladder by gaining experience from simple missions!"

"But it's been nothing but dumb missions so far -"

Konan promptly punched him over the head, sending him faltering face first into the hardwood floor.

"Would you know it off already?" said Konan irritably. "You're giving more of a headache than usual."

"I like this kid's spirit," said Anko, chuckling. "But it doesn't sound like you've taught him about the essential basics of how the shinobi system works, Iruka."

"Not for a lack of trying," said Iruka, sighing. "But if you think you can do better, give it a shot."

"Gladly," said Anko, grinning as she leaned back on two legs of her chair with her feet propped on the desk. "All right, brats, listen up, because I'm only going to say this once! Requests pour in shinobi villages all over the continent every day. They range from babysitting to assassinations. A wide spectrum of requests are recorded on the request list and they are separated into A, B, C, and D ranks according to their level of difficulty. In some cases, we even get a rare S-rank mission."

"S-rank," Fu repeated. "You mean like Konan-sensei?"

"Well, she qualifies for an S-rank mission, yes," Anko nodded. "In the village, everyone below the Kage is divided up by ability in the order of Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. The higher officials distribute the requests as missions to shinobi who have abilities suited to said mission. And, if the mission is successful, the fee comes in from the client. Since you three just became Genin recently, D-rank missions are about the best you can do…."

"Yesterday's lunch was pork bone broth ramen," Naruto said to his team, who were, for some reason giving him their undivided attention; Anko fell backwards in her chair from the shock. "So I'm thinking today will be miso broth – "

"Do you wanna die, you brat!" screeched Anko.

"Oh, sorry about that," Konan apologized, rubbing her neck sheepishly.

"Maaan, I don't need a lecture from you of all people, Snake Lady," said Naruto, grumbling. "I'm not that little prankster you used to know."

" _Ugh, I am sooo going to get scolded for this later,_ ' thought Konan.

Though his response was disrespectful, Kakashi, Anko, and Iruka were all smiling in their own ways. They had known Naruto longer than anyone in the room, perhaps in the entire village, each one having their own hand in raising the boy (though Anko was strangely absent for the early years until Naruto had moved out of diapers). Anko and Iruka shared a look, nodding in a silent agreement, before they turned to Kakashi. The Hokage's one eye was locked firmly on the pouting boy, as if seeing him for the first time.

"…Okay, fine," said Kakashi suddenly catching everyone off guard. "If you feel so strongly about it, then I suppose I have no choice but to assign you a C-rank mission. Your job is simple: you have to be bodyguards for someone."

"Really?" said Naruto excitedly. "Who is it? Who is it? A daimyo? Or a princess?"

"Now, now, let's not get hasty," said Kakashi patiently. "I'll introduce you now. Could you please come in, ma'am?"

All heads swiveled around as the entrance to the room rattled open and someone stepped inside. Their client, as it turned out, was a beautiful young woman that would make even Konan feel self-conscious (and it certainly did no favors for Fu). Her skin was flawless and fair, her long black hair framing her heart-shaped face. Even her dress and obi were tailed from fine cloth. But despite her beauty, her expression was one of pure apathy; like she didn't care about anything or anyone.

Before either Gaara or Fu could discern who this woman was, Naruto suddenly shouted and answered the question for her.

"Wah! Yukie Fujikaze!"

"Who?" Gaara and Fu asked in unison.

"She plays Princess Gales in all her movies!" shouted Naruto, suddenly bouncing on his feet.

"Movies?" Fu turned to Gaara curiously. "What're movies?"

"They're basically moving pictures with a story," said Gaara. "We don't really have them a lot in the Hidden Sand and I doubt they would have any in a small village like the Hidden Waterfall. Only the Hidden Leaf has the wealth to waste money on such drivel."

"Shut up, this is awesome!" said Naruto, grinning from ear to ear. "We're gonna be Princess Gale's bodyguards. This is so cool. You think she'd give me her autograph?"

"For what?" said Yukie coldly, having overheard the loud chatter. "So that it can collect dust in your drawer, forgotten? I can't believe that a shinobi would want something as stupid as a worthless piece of handwriting. Are you sure these children are capable enough to be bodyguards."

"Don't worry, they are perfectly qualified for this mission," said Kakashi. "And just to be sure, you will also be escorted by Konan, who is a high-ranking Jonin. If you run into any trouble, you can rest assured that she is plenty capable of handling it."

"Very well," said Yukie, almost begrudgingly so. "As the boy already told you, my name is Yukie Fujikaze, an actress. I am staring in the next Princess Gale movie, which is currently in production. We are planning to film in the small nation of the Land of Snow. The film crew for the movie has already has already gone ahead, but I have not yet departed. As an actress, I am a target to many who would wish to take me for ransom. That is why I made a request for an escort. I fully expect you all to give your lives for me to ensure my safety."

"I highly doubt it will come to that," said Konan. "But don't worry, nothing will happen as long as we're around."

* * *

They all met up again roughly around noon at the front gates of the village after head to their personal homes to collect any necessary items before they set out on their journey. The Land of Snow was very far away and they didn't know when they would have a chance to restock supplies; better safe than sorry. Gaara, Fu, and Konan were content as they passed the open gates, but Naruto suddenly bounced around and threw out his arms like he had suddenly accomplished something amazing.

"All right!" cheered Naruto. "We're off!"

"What're you getting all hyper about?" asked Fu, tilting her head curiously.

"That's because I've never left the village before," said Naruto, looking around with a wide grin as if expecting to see a new scope of scenery just because they were outside the boundary. "You can't tell me you weren't this excited when you left your village!"

"Well, I guess that's true," said Fu, smiling with her hands behind her head. "I'd never left the village in my whole life, so it was nice to see something new for a change. I especially love the fast food they got here."

"It was a welcome change," said Gaara, nodded. "Not having to see endless stretches of deserts everywhere."

"Hey, am I really safe with these children protecting me?" Yukie asked Konan, purposely ignoring the annoyed look in the Genin's eyes. "Are you sure you couldn't supply shinobi a little more…capable."

"I promise you, they're all…well, Gaara and Fu are tough enough to handle any situation," said Konan amusingly, purposely annoying Naruto. "And don't worry, we'll be keeping a close eye on Naruto so he doesn't cause any trouble. There's no need to worry."

' _Man, I can't believe I thought she was cool,_ ' thought Naruto irritably. ' _Well, I got a thing or two to say to her…._ '

He quickly spun around and pointed an accusing finger at the actress.

"Hey, Yukie Fujikaze!" shouted Naruto. "Don't go looking down on me so much! I'm awesome, you see! I'm a super elite shinobi who will be called Hokage one day! My name's Naruto Uzumaki! You better remember it!"

"Since when is he a super elite shinobi?" Fu whispered to Gaara.

"Just ignore him," said Gaara exasperatedly. "Eventually, you learn to tune him out."

"The Hokage is the most powerful shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village, correct?" said Yukie in an uncaring tone. "Just by looking at you, I can already tell you don't have what it takes to accomplish such a lofty goal – "

"Shut up!" yelled Naruto; the vein in his skull was rather pronounced. "I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to become Hokage! You'll have no choice but to acknowledge me then!"

"Oh, you are 'prepared to do whatever it takes', are you?" said Yukie, scoffing. "That only prove that you have no real plan in mind. You're just running around spouting nonsense without any thought about how you intend to accomplish your goal. It's plainly obvious now that you can never become Hokage."

"What?!" growled Naruto, stepping closer to the actress.

"Naruto," said Gaara, halting the boy immediately. "That's enough. Let it go."

Naruto huffed, obviously not wanting to let it go, but he relented nonetheless. He'll make the snobby actress eat her words, you can count on it.

As they set out on their journey, Konan was very specific in the pattern that they walked. Yukie would be in the center, obviously, and Gaara would be out in front as the first line of defense due to his sand's reach and speed. Konan would be next, walking alongside Yukie while keeping watch of the tree line. Naruto and Fu stood in back as the last line of defense; Fu for her quick offensive capabilities and Naruto for his seemingly unlimited shadow clones. So far, it didn't look like needed to test the formation, which was a good thing in Konan's opinion.

"Excuse me, Miss Fujisake," said Fu. "You said we were headed to the Land of Snow, right?"

"Yes, I believe that is what I said?" answered Yukie. "What about it?"

"Konan-sensei, doesn't the Land of Snow have shinobi, too?" asked Fu. "I think I remember Shibuki-kun complaining about them at one time. Do they have a village there, too?"

"Yes, the Land of Snow has its own shinobi village called the Hidden Snow Village," said Konan. "They used to be a very social village and were one of the few nations willing to participate in the International Selection during the Fourth Hokage's time. But ten years ago, the previous leader was killed in a horrible accident and the current leader, Doto Kazahana, withdrew from the International Selection and isolated the Land of Snow from other shinobi nations."

Konan noticed that Yukie's hand seemed to clench as she spoke, but didn't say anything of it and pressed on with her explanation.

"From what I've heard, the Hidden Snow shinobi place a higher value in tools rather than personal skill. According to whispers and rumors, they have chosen to follow in the ways of advancing technology over spending time creating new jutsu and strengthening their shinobi. On average, they have a couple hundred shinobi – not much compared to the major villages – but they also developed a new type of armor that is said to drain chakra, rendering genjutsu and ninjutsu useless. Such technology would be considered dangerous for most of the Shinobi Continent, but they quickly ended production of these Charka Armors once they started gaining attention from the Western Continent."

"The Western Continent?" Gaara repeated curiously. "I think of heard of that place before."

"As you should," said Konan, frowning suddenly. "The Western Continent refers to the nations directly west of the Shinobi Continent, just beyond the boards of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind. Unlike the Shinobi Continent, the Western Continent is entirely military-based filled with advance technology from mobile vehicles to long-range firearms. The Shinobi and Western continents don't have the most stable relationship due to their opposing political views. The Western Continent believe in absolute authority and discipline their people to be soldiers from a young age, as opposed to the Shinobi Continent, which places values on freedom and choice."

"Did the two continents ever fight?" asked Fu.

"They did, at one point," said Konan. "It was back in the early days when the shinobi villages were just beginning. The five Kages at the time tried to establish peaceful relations when the Western Continent took advantage of their kindness and tried to expand their territory into ours. As you can imagine, the Kage didn't much like that. It became a feud that ignited the First Shinobi World War, marking the cornerstone of current warfare. The Shinobi Continent was losing ground fast due to their strong military tactics and advanced weaponry. In order to fight back, the Shinobi Continent make a pact with the continent across the ocean: Ishgar. Once we had their help, we were able to drive off the Western Continent."

"What's so special about Ishgar that turned the tide of the war?" asked Gaara.

"Ishgar is a thriving continent with an abundance of magic," said Konan.

"Magic? What're you talking about?" said Naruto, raising his brow.

"I don't really understand it myself, but they have a lot of powerful people over there," said Konan. "There was this one girl they called 'The Fairy' that led the Shinobi Continent to more victories than any other leader in our history. Once the Western Continent was out of our land, a treaty was formed that keeps them away from our territory. Of course, when they hear that a shinobi village has made advancements in military technology, they tend to crop up every once and a while. That's why the Hidden Snow stopped making their Chakra Armors – they didn't want to make enemies with powerful people."

"Whoa…that's a lot of info to suck up," said Fu astonishingly.

"Well, don't you worry about it," said Konan lightly, patting her head. "Like I said, the Western Continent won't be crossing our borders, and I highly doubt we'll be running into any trouble from the Snow shinobi for a simple escort mission."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Fu, chuckling.

Konan and Fu seemed lighthearted and Naruto was confused as always, but Gaara felt more than a little suspicious. He kept noticing something strange about Yukie Fujikaze. Ever since they left the safety of the Hidden Leaf, she had been glancing around fretfully every few seconds, almost as if expecting an attack. That didn't look like the face of someone worried about common thugs or bandits in Gaara's eyes. It was the kind of look someone had when they were expecting much worse – Gaara knew that from personal experience.

They're journey had been relatively peaceful, all things considered. Walking nearly an hour without any attacks or Yukie complaining as they had expected most actress to be like. It would still be several hours before they reached the port village on the edge of the Land of Fire and take a boat to the Land of Snow.

Speaking of which, it had suddenly become surprisingly cold despite it being in the middle of summer. Naruto shivered and Fu rubbed her arms, shivering. Konan's brow furrowed with suspicion as she looked around the tree line, and Gaara quietly reached up and removed the cork from his gourd.

A few seconds of calm silence passed…then the trees shifted violently above them as three figured suddenly jumped out into the open, soaring high above them. From one glance, they could see that they were shinobi: the forehead protectors prominently displayed, all of them wearing matching icy-blue uniforms. Their group consisted of a thin man with long, lavender hair, a bulky man short purple hair, and a woman with pink hair in pigtails.

The pink-haired female of the group withdrew a handful of kunai from her pouch and threw them at Konan. The Hidden Rain Jonin did not move, knowing that they were not going to hit her and instead stabbed the ground at her feet. At first, it seemed like the kunoichi made a mistake, but Konan noticed at the very last second that there were blue orbs attached by strings at the ends of the kunai.

"What?" Konan managed to sputter before –

"Here's the first one," said the lavender-haired man.

The blue orbs explode. Gaara's sand quickly builds to protect himself, Naruto, Fu, and Yukie from the blast. They could hear the heavy thuds against the Sand Shield and a sudden drop in temperature; a cool mist passed under their feet. When the immediate danger had passed, Gaara lowered his shield. What they found on the other side was their teacher, lying on the ground, needles of ice piercing her from every side. The scene was so horrific that Fu's mouth fell open, but she couldn't scream.

Luckily, Naruto did it for her.

"K-Konan-sensei!"

"And now the second one."

Naruto froze up; the voice came from directly behind him.

He hesitantly glanced over her shoulder to see the largest of the attackers raising his armored fist over his head, fully prepared to crush Naruto into the dirt. The large shinobi swing his fist around when a blur of white and green flashed between them and the attacking shinobi suddenly found his fist stopped halfway from his objective.

Naruto fell down with a gasp, staring in awe as Fu had stepped in between them. Despite the enemy shinobi being three times her size, Fu was doing an amazing job of holding back his metal-covered fist with only one hand. The kunoichi from the Hidden Waterfall was furious; she gritted her teeth and took deep gasping breaths, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"You…BASTARDS!" Fu snarled.

She closed her finger to make a fist, ripping apart the opposing shinobi's metal gauntlet. The large man stumbled back holding his broken gauntlet, whimpering fearfully, leaving his open as Fu jumped up to meet him at eye level and delivered a swinging kick to the crook of his neck. The sound of cracking bone echoed in the forest and the enemy shinobi fell to the ground, unmoving.

Naruto just watched on, mouth open in awe.

' _W-wow,_ ' he thought.

"You bitch!" Everyone looked up, spying the pink-haired kunoichi hovering above the battlefield. "You killed Mizore! I'm gonna beat the shit out of – GWAH!"

She didn't make it any further than that. Before she could realize what had occurred, she suddenly found herself suspended in the air, enclosed in a cocoon of sand. Gaara's raised his hand upwards towards the kunoichi, silently commanding the sand to climb higher over its victim until they were completely covered. Then, without even flinching, Gaara closed his hand and the sand cocoon contracted accordingly. Her screams were muffled by the sand, but the wet spots that formed in the sand were all the indicators they need to know what happened.

"Mizore! Fubuki!" the last shinobi cried. "Son of a…you kids! You monsters! If I'm going to die, then I'll at least do what I came here for!"

The lavender-haired shinobi was fast, easily running past Fu before she could step in his path and much too quick for Gaara's sand to return in time. He bypassed all of them and made a beeline for Yukie. The actress cringed and raised her arms in a defense position as the shinobi leapt at her with a kunai in hand. And when he had come so close – only inches from his target – the shinobi was suddenly lurched back when an open palm struck him squarely in the face, effectively knocking him out cold.

Naruto, Gaara, and Fu quickly turned around as the enemy shinobi hit the ground and Konan waved nonchalantly to her students.

"Yo," she greeted them.

"Konan-sensei! You're alive!" Fu cheered happily.

" _Hmph! Show off…_ ' thought Gaara.

"Wait, if Konan-sensei is there, then…," mumbled Naruto.

He looked over where Konan's corpse was supposed to be, only to find a pile of ripped papers punctured by the ice spikes.

"So Konan-sensei used a paper clone when no one was looking…," Naruto mumbled.

"Naruto," Konan called to him. "Sorry I didn't help you right away.I didn't think you'd be incapable of moving. As for you, Gaara, Fu, you both performed superbly. Though in the future, it would be preferred if you kept the enemy alive. We needed them for information. Fortunately, we still have on breathing, so it wasn't a complete loss."

It suddenly hit Naruto like a pile of bricks. All he did was freeze up at the first sign of trouble while Gaara and Fu took out the enemy. And not just take them out, but downright killed the.. The idea of killing someone had never crossed his mind before and these two did it without hesitating.

' _I…couldn't do anything…_ ,' thought Naruto fretfully. ' _But Gaara and Fu…it was their first real battle…didn't they feel scared at all? They saved me like it was nothing and without getting any dirt on their clothes…._ '

"Naruto…," said Gaara in a soft voice, making Naruto stiffen as he turned around. "Are you all right? If I thought you were going to be paralyzed with fear, I would have moved you out of the range of the battle. That's my fault."

Naruto knew he wasn't trying to be rude or condescending, but hearing his own teammate pity him make Naruto feel even worse about himself than before. He choked back his frustrated gasps, tightening his fists until the nails started to cut into his skin. It was just like during the survival exercise…. He was helpless while his teammates were fighting with everything they had…. It made him so angry….

"By the way, Miss Fujikaze," said Konan with a furrowed brow.

"Yes?" Yukie replied coolly.

"You have something you need to explain," said Konan, reaching down and lifting up the last enemy shinobi like he weighed nothing. "These aren't just random shinobi that we happened to cross pathes with. TSee their forehead protectors. They are Chunin from the Hidden Snow Village from the Land of Snow. The same region we just happen to be escorting you to. I knew from the start that they were Snow shinobi – they specialize in ice-based weaponry such as ice bombs to create snow in places where they don't normally exist. The cold their weapons gave off immediately alerted us to their prescense."

"If you knew this," said Yukie, "why did you leave it to the children to fight?"

"If I felt like it, I could have killed these guys before they even blinked," said Konan plainly. "But I had to know who the target of the enemy was."

"If you have something to say, then say it," said Yukie impatiently. "I hate it when people beat around the bush."

"All right, then I'll just say it," said Konan with a menacing scowl. "I had to know if they were after you, or one of us that were being targeted. I have a lot of enemies, so I wouldn't have been surprised if they came after me. But they specifically went out of their way to kill you, even at the risk of their own deaths. You never told us anything about you being targeted by shinobi. The content of the request was supposed to just be protection from gangs, thieves, and the like. After this, the mission is immediately bumped up to B-rank, maybe even A-rank. The request was supposed protection until you finished your movie…but now I get the suspicion that there never was a movie to begin with, was there…?"

Yukie purposely turned her eyes away.

"I'm sure you must have a good reason for lying," Konan continued, "but being lied to in the request won't do. This is beyond the scope of our mission."

"I don't see the problem," Fu interjected. "We took them out pretty quick, if you ask me."

"Those were only Chunin," said Konan, making Fu flinch under her authoritative glare. "No doubt they'll be sending for someone strong next time. A Jonin at best. This mission is too soon for you kids, especially Naruto" – the blonde boy stiffened at the mention – "you saw the way he froze up like that. It'll be worse next time. We're stopping the mission now. For here, the Hidden Mist village should be closer, so we'll stop by there and inform Lord Mizukage of this development. He'll assign a proper team for the job."

Naruto sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't believe his teacher was ending their first real mission all because he got scared. It was upsetting to say the least. It felt no different than being in the academy when he was almost being held back for not being good enough. If they went back now, this would only prove Iruka and Anko right and that he didn't have what it takes to do anything beyond menial D-rank missions. He couldn't let that happen!

Before any of them had the slightest clue what he was thinking, Naruto suddenly whipped out a kunai from his pouch and stabbed himself in the back of the hand. Fu's jaw dropped dumbfounded, Yukie looked at him like he was an idiot, Gaara facepalmed himself again, and Konan shook her head with a sigh.

"What the hell was that for you, idiot?" shrieked Fu. "What'd you go and stab yourself? Have you finally lost what little sense you have left?"

"I should be getting stronger," Naruto said in a strained voice. "Here I am steadily carrying out missions and doing special training by myself every day. I'll never get into another situation from which I'll need to be rescued. I'll never be afraid or run away from things. And I won't lose to you or Gaara. I'm going to swear on this oath of blood! I'll protect Miss Fujikaze with my own strength! So we're going through with the mission!"

"If you say so," said Yukie, not at all moved by his speech. "Though did you really need to cut your own hand open? All you did was hurt yourself, stupid."

"Hey, I'm trying to be serious here!" snapped Naruto.

"Naruto," Konan interrupted. "It's all well and good to see you so passionate about the mission, but if you keep cutting your hand open like that, you'll bleed to death."

A sudden pause passed over the forest clearing; only the chirping of the crows and the blowing of the wind filled in the silence. The rest of Team Konan looked at their teammates with half-lidded eyes of exasperation hen their third teammate started sweating profusely. Konan slid in next to him with a placid smile, saying:

"Things will get hairy if you don't stop the bleeding quick…. Seriously."

"Gurk!" Naruto chocked, flailing his arms and legs around like a madman. "Argh! No! No! I can't die like this!"

"Show me your hand," Konan demanded lightly and Naruto quickly complied.

"Nooo! Please, help me!"

"And this guy tried so hard to act cool a second ago," said Fu amusingly, chuckling with her hands folded behind her head.

"He's just an idiot," Gaara muttered. "A self-abusing idiot."

But while Naruto panicked and his teammates taunted him, Konan's eyes narrowed in on the wound her created.

' _Just as I would have imagined,_ ' thought Konan, taking not of the tiny, almost unnoticeable heat wafting from the wound. " _He's already starting to heal. This must be the Kyuubi's work…._ '

"Um…sensei," Naruto voice brought Konan out of her thoughts. "Am I okay? You look awfully serious…."

"Well, you should be okay," said Konan, pulling out a roll of bandage from her pouch and dressing up the wound. "Nothing to be worried about…honestly…."

* * *

The Land of Snow was a harsh landscape dominated by snowy mountains and constant blizzards. In the heart of the mountains was a stone castle, fortified by natural defenses that barely shield those inside from the cold. Inside, seated upon his obsidian throne was a tall and well-built man of advanced years and very pronounced features. Standing opposite of him halfway across his throne room were to people: an elderly man and a young woman.

The man was very muscular with faded blond hair reaching down his back and a prominent scar on his right cheek. He wore normal shinobi gear of a gray color and a short cloak over his shoulders. Most of the man's face was concealed by a helmet-like respirator upon which bared the metal plate of the Hidden Rain Village.

The woman on his left was short and thin with light-blue hair that was kept in a spiky ponytail not too dissimilar to Anko. She wore an asymmetrical green dress where the right sleeve was shorter than the left and a white fluffy collar. Her dress was branded with a large white lotus flower in a way that she wanted everyone to see immediately.

It seemed like the man and the woman had just finished filling in a report to the man sitting on the throne and he did not seem pleased.

"What do you mean they failed!" shouted the man, pounding his fist on the throne. "How could Roga's team fail?"

"Because they were weak, obviously," said the woman, rolling her eyes. "Isn't that why you hired us? Because the ninjas of your village aren't worth crap – "

"Guren," said the man sharply, and the woman instantly went quiet. "He is our employer. You must show your respect."

"Yes, my lord," said Guren, though she didn't sound happy.

"I am truly sorry your men have disappointed you, Lord Doto," said the man respectfully. "But rest assure, Guren and I will handle the matter personally."

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?" asked Doto suspiciously. "It seems like the enemy has hired shinobi from one of those teams in that ridiculous International Selection. It's unlikely you'll be going against a team with only one set of skills. On top of that, they've likely tightened their guard after Roga's failure.

"Do not worry yourself, Lord Doto," said the man. "We have yet to fail a mission. Come along, Guren," he commanded his partner, walking away.

"Yes, Lord Hanzo," said Guren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now we're setting foot into some new territory here. I'm still using the Land of Waves Arc as a base, but this will involve a new plotline with some instances from the Clash in the Land of Snow movie, including new characters, new interactions, new fights, and soon, new jutsus. Hanzo was already planned to appear because I wanted to establish the enemy with a connection to Konan, and their histories will make dfor an interesting development. Guren is a recent addition I thought of, and I have big plans for her.


	6. Hanzo the Salamander

Naruto shivered, wishing he had opted for thicker clothing when he had the chance.

Team Konan had made it to the port on the edge of the Land of Fire and chartered a boat to the Land of Snow, but Konan had them stop to grab thermal wear before heading out; it was called the Land of Snow for a reason.

Naruto had stuck with his usual attire with the addition of winter gloves and a cloak, though he was sorely regretting it now. Fu had gone with a longer version of her shirt to cover her stomach, thick woolen arm warmers, and replaced her skirt with thermal pants. And Gaara, who was the most unaccustomed to the cold climate, had replaced his entire wardrobe with a thick, heavy scarlet coat, thick black winter pants, and a yellow knitted cap that Fu bought for him. Konan had pulled out a black cloak that she claims to have worn during the Hidden Rain Civil War and Yukie didn't need a new attire at all, having already adjusted to the cold.

The ship moved swiftly through the calm waters as snow gently fell over their heads and small glaciers started to appear in the water, signifying that they were close to the Land of Snow. Yukie stood at the bow of the ship, staring out into the far ocean, with Konan standing protectively close by. Naruto and Fu were sitting on the railing of the ship, fishing rods in hand and a bucket of bait next to them, trying to see if they could catch any fish (Fu was looking to make a huge score for dinner). Gaara sat himself on the floor inches away from the heater provided by the crew, desperately trying to gain what little warmth he could.

"Gaara's having a tough time with this, huh?" said Naruto, looking back at his redheaded friend.

"Well, he did spend his entire life living in a desert," said Fu, casting the line again. "The is probably the first time he's ever been cold. Don't worry, Gaara's a tough guy – I'm sure he'll get used to it."

"We'll be arriving in the Land of Snow shortly," Yukie said aloud. "We should prepare to disembark very soon."

Naruto and Fu turned away from their fishing expedition and Gaara lifted his heat from his place near the heater. After a few minutes of seeing nothing but endless sea and bobbing glaciers, a dark outline started to appear over the horizon. In moments, they had a full view of the Land of Snow; a mountainous region painted pure white like it had just come out of a portrait. The light of the rising morning sun reflected off the snow, making it glisten. Naruto and Fu opened their moves in awe.

"Coool," said Naruto.

"So pretty," said Fu.

"Great," grumbled Gaara, "more snow."

"Everyone, gather your things and prepare to depart," Konan told them. "Pack only the essentials. And no, Gaara, you can't take the heater with you."

Gaara cursed under his breath.

"But before we make landfall, there's something I need to ask you, Miss Fujikaze," said Konan, turning to Yukie, who kept her back to the kunoichi. "We need to know who your assailants are and why they would want to target you. If you don't tell us, we can't afford to keep protecting you any further. We're already risking ourselves by continuing a mission that should never have been ours to start with."

Naruto, Gaara, and Fu stood in attention, all eyes firmly locked on the actress's back. Yukie seemed to stare off into space, possibly considering whether or not it was worth telling them anything. But in the end, with a heavy exasperated sigh, Yukie turned around and addressed them:

"Very well; it appears I have no choice but to tell you. To be honest, I want you to hear my story. Just as you have said, this mission is most likely beyond the scope of what I hired you for. If I am being truthful, there is a very powerful and very dangerous man that is threatening my life."

"A dangerous man?" Konan repeated with a raised brow. "Who?"

"You already know him since you mentioned him by name shortly after we left the Leaf," said Yukie, her brow furrowed with a serious gaze. "He is my uncle, Doto Kazahana."

"What? Doto?" Konan gasped in shock. "Your uncle is Doto Kazahana? The Daimyo of the Land of Snow?"

"The very same," said Yukie.

"But wait," said Fu, frowning. "If this guy is your uncle, then why is he trying to kill you?"

"Because I am a threat to his power," said Yukie. "I'm the only one who can remove him from the seat of Daimyo, and for that he wants me dead so that no one else can challenge his right of authority."

"But how can an actress pose any sort of threat to the most powerful man in the Land of Snow?" asked Gaara suspiciously.

"Because our esteemed Yukie Fujikaze isn't what she seems," said Konan. "That's not even your real name, is it? Just a front to cover who you really are. The Lost Princess of the Hidden Snow…Koyuki Kazahana."

Naruto's mouth fell open in awe and Fu nearly tripped over herself. Yukie made no attempt to deny the accusation, which only served as proof of Konan's suspicions.

"Wait, wait, wait," sputtered Naruto. "So Princess Gale is actually a real princess?"

"I haven't been the princess of that land for over ten years," said Yukie coolly. "The truth is, my career as an actress was just that – an act. For over a decade now, I've been hiding from my uncle, waiting for the day when I could return to the Land of Snow and free my people from his tyranny."

"You'll have to explain that part to us," said Konan.

"On the surface, my uncle presents himself as an honest Daimyo, just enough so that no one questions it," said Yukie. "But underneath that mask is a cruel, heartless, and greedy bastard who knows no limits to getting what he wants. But secretly, he exploits the Hidden Snow village for profit, selling out our natural resources and dealing in illegal arms through the use of our shinobi. He doesn't even care about the people that live there, only seeing them as tools to be used or thrown away. And anyone that ever spoke out against him or attempted to expose him to the other Shinobi Nations end up dead before they had a chance. He's been systematically taking out any resistance over the past ten years until everyone had no choice but to fall in line. And on an isolated island country like the Land of Snow, where the nearest neighbor is hundreds of miles out, the people are essentially trapped with Doto keeping a tight grip on all marine transportation. We were only fortunate enough to find a boat that would charter us all the way out here under the threat of Doto's strict border patrol.

"The only thing that Doto fears is my return. As the daughter of the previous Daimyo and since I have recently come of age, I can now extend my right of succession for the title of Daimyo. Doto knows that the people will stand by me, which is why he is determined to have me killed before I have the chance."

"And that's why he sent those Snow shinobi after us back in the Land of Fire," said Gaara.

"I understand you reasoning a little clearer now," said Konan, crossing her arms. "But there's one thing I still don't get. You knew your uncle would send Snow shinobi to kill you, so why did you hide that fact when you made your request?"

"It's because I knew the Hokage would never accept the mission if I told him the truth," said Yukie. "The truth is, it was Lord Hokage who rescued me from my uncle ten years ago, back when he was still an active shinobi. It's been so long since we've seen each other that he's forgotten my face and I assumed an alias to make sure no one would know who I was. If Lord Hokage every learned of what I was planning, he would keep me away from the Land of Snow at all cost, even go as far as to put me under house arrest. I have waited for ten years to come of age when I could finally take back my homeland and I'm not going to wait a day longer. But if pull out of the mission when I land ashore, I will be killed for certain."

"And why should we care?" asked Gaara coldly.

"Well, you, in particular, might now care," said Yukie calmly, "but I know the rest of your team wouldn't stand idly by as a cruel dictator destroys the lives of thousands of innocents when you had an opportunity to save them. The people of the Land of Snow will send the remaining of their meager lives cursing the shinobi who destroyed their only chance for salvation. I know what kind of people you are; you would never allow that to happen, especially you, Miss Konan. After all, you were a freedom fighter yourself, once. Isn't that right?"

' _Damn, talk about a cheap shot,_ ' thought Fu.

"I don't like be being jerked around, Miss Kazahana," said Konan, frowning with an icy leer. "But yes, you're right. We won't stand by and do nothing. We'll continue being your bodyguards…."

"You have my sincere gratitude," said Yukie, smiling smugly. She turned around and looked out over the railing. "Hmm, these is something troubling about all this, though. We managed to slip past Doto's border patrol rather easily. Almost intentionally so."

"Possibly a trap," said Konan. "Everyone, keep your guard up as we reach the shore. And no one try to play hero. That means you, Naruto."

The shipped pulled up to the shore, but didn't set anchor; Yukie made it explicitly clear that they were to get in and out. The Genin jumped over the side and landed in the snow, which had piled up so high that iot had gone up to their knees. Everyone had expected Naruto to be the one to fall on his face, but it turned out to be Gaara instead and his hatred of the cold powder even more apparent. Konan leapt after them and carried Yukie down bridal style, landing perfectly flat on the snow before setting her down. Fu seemed to be the only one that noticed Konan's feet wasn't buried in the snow like theirs; they were perfectly flat on top.

"We'll be walking for the rest of the trip," said Yukie, pulling her coat closer to herself. "The nearest village is just through the frozen forest. Get me there safely. There should be a safe house waiting for us."

"Yes, ma'am," Konan nodded.

They started trudging along through the heavy snowline, maintaining the standard formation: Gaara in front, Konan beside the target, and Naruto and Fu in back. Gaara seemed weary as they reached the edge of the frozen forest, where the snow-covered evergreens towered over them, icicles hanging from their branches. Though the terrain was different, he knew that an enemy could be hiding in the snow mounds just as Sand shinobi hid in the desert. Konan shared his worry as she cautiously eyed the trees and the ground.

' _When they attack next time, it won't be Chunin, but elite level Jonin,_ ' she thought. ' _Hopefully they won't present too much of a problem. Gaara and Fu were able to handle a couple of Chunin without help. My main concern is Naruto. Out of everyone here, he's the weakest link._ '

But while the rest of his team was attentive to potential dangers, Naruto had other pressing matters on his mind, namely Gaara and Fu. He kept glancing at them out of the corner of his eye, grumbling under his breath. The surprise attack by the Snow shinobi was still fresh in his mind. It drove him crazy how his teammates, who were the same age and rank as him, managed to take on fully grown shinobi while he nearly wrecked his pants after the first encounter. And to top it off, he needed Fu to save him. The only plus side to the whole thing was that Sakura hadn't been around to see him freeze up (no pun intended).

' _These guys…_ ," thought Naruto, glaring. ' _I won't let them have all the good parts this time. When the next enemy comes around, I'm gonna show them that Naruto Uzumaki isn't a scardy cat –_ "

"BOO!"

Naruto immediately rocket skyward with a high-pitched shriek, hitting his head on a low hanging branch. Naruto rubbed the sore spot on his head when he turned around and glared at Fu, who was giggling behind her hands. He opened his mouth to say something, l but was cut off when a large pile of snow slipped off the branch and piled on top of him until only his feet were visible at the bottom. Fu couldn't hold back any longer; she exploded with laughter, doubling over while holding her stomach. Gaara and Yukie both looked annoyed and Konan gave an exasperated sigh.

"Fu, what're you doing to Naruto?"

"Sorry, sensei," said Fu, giggling. "He just looked so focus, I couldn't resist. Did you hear his scream? It sounded like a six-year-old girl."

"I'm pretty sure everyone heard that by now," said Gaara, grimacing.

"What the hell is wrong with you idiots!" Yukie hissed furiously. "You want to alert everyone in the Land of Snow about our presence? The whole point of sneaking into the country was to  _not_ be found! Ugh, I suppose this is what I deserve for hiring a bunch of children to act as my bodyguards!"

Yukie went about complaining about their lack of professionalism as Fu started digging up Naruto and Gaara watched the entire scene play out from the sidelines. Konan, meanwhile, went a little further ahead of the group and stopped near the edge of a small clearing in the middle of the forest. In the center of the clearing was a frozen lake and a sparse amount of plants capable of surviving the winter climate. He eyes traveled over the smooth lake surface, through the untouched powder on the ground, and roamed over the branches of the trees to her left. She narrowed her gaze when she spotted a small, almost unnoticeable piece of branch that didn't have any snow on it. She turned around slowly and spotted another similar branch not too far away, and another one after that. There seemed to be a trail forming….

' _Some of these branches are devoid of any snow,_ ' thought Konan.  _'In a country like this where the expected rate of snowfall is once every six hours, it's highly unlikely that it could happen on its own. Which mean that these branches were disturbed recently. And since the last reported snowfall was under an hour before we arrived, that means whoever or whatever was here is still nearby._ '

And as Konan suspected, their followers were not too far. High above, hidden behind the thickest branches of the evergreens, Hanzo and Guren observed the joint team from afar. Hanzo held his hand up to signal Guren to be patient; she is always so impatient. He took in the team, immediately noticing that each of them had different clothing styles and varying skin toner, meaning they were from different nations; a fact he confirmed after one look at their forehead protectors. But the one who drew his attention was a familiar face, Konan. It had been years since he had seen that woman – almost twenty if his math was correct. She looked exactly the same as she did back them, but her eyes were full of wisdom and experience.

"I see…," Hanzo hummed thoughtfully. "It's no wonder Roga's team was wiped out. They wouldn't have been enough to take on this group. Especially that woman with them."

"Who is she, Lord Hanzo?" asked Guren.

"That is Konan Tenshi," said Hanzo. "She is better known as the Angel of the Hidden Rain. It's been a long time since we last encountered. She has certainly matured well."

"Should I join you, Lord Hanzo?" said Guren.

"No, Guren," said Hanzo immediately. "You are to behind and observe. Should there be any possibility that I cannot kill them here, we will need the information you have gathered for future reference."

"Of course, Lord Hanzo," said Guren, bowing her head.

Hanzo turned back toward the join shinobi group and, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Konan's senses immediately kicked in when she caught the soft noise of clinking metal over Fu's laughter and Naruto and Yukie's yelling.

"Everyone, get down!" she screamed.

A heavy metal weighted chain shot out from between the trees flying towards their heads. Naruto and Fu immediately dodged the weight and Konan instinctively pulled Yukie out of the line of fire. Gaara did not move as his sand exploded from the gourd on his back and crafted a barrier between them, sending the weighted chain flying toward a random tree. The chain wrapped itself around the trunk of the tree twice before the weight hooked it into place.

After setting Yukie down, Konan looked to the end of the long metal chain when she felt a presence behind her and pivoted around on her heels. In that one moment, she and Hanzo locked eyes with one another as the former ruler of the Hidden Rain hovered overhead, brandishing a sickle in his hand. A tidal wave of emotions flashed in Konan's eyes – anger, sadness, fear, and regret – but she pushed those feelings down as Hanzo took a swing at her neck. Konan all but threw herself into the snow as Hanzo soared overhead in mid-swing. From her place on the ground, Konan threw her leg up for a swift kick to Hanzo's chest, but the older shinobi blocked the attack with his forearm and used the momentum to flip away.

Hanzo landed on his feet and tugged the chain of his kusarigama back into his hand as Konan stood up. Naruto, Gaara, Fu, and Yukie stood some little ways back with guarded stances while their Jonin instructor and their attack were locked in a heated stare down.

"Of all the Jonin and all the countries in the world," said Konan in a low voice, "why did it have to be you?"

"I'm just as surprised by this as you are," said Hanzo. "Fate can be both funny and cruel."

' _All right,_ ' Naruto thought excitedly. ' _All right, all right, all right! I'm going to do it this time! I won't lose to Gaara or Fu this time!'_

"Konan-sensei," do you know this guy?" asked Fu.

"More than know him," said Konan, leering at her opponent. "I'm sure I've told you about him once before. His name is Hanzo the Salamander of the Hidden Rain."

"Hanzo?" Fu repeated in shock. "As in the guy who – "

"Killed Yahiko?" Konan finished for her. "Yeah, that's him."

' _I have no idea what they're talking about,_ ' thought Naruto, moving into a starting position. " _Bah! Who cares? What's important now is that I kick this guy's ass before Gaara hogs all the glory. Ready…set…._ '

"Naruto!" Konan suddenly shouted before he could take his first step. "Don't even think about getting in the way. The way I am now, I'm liable to kill you just as much as Hanzo."

"Wha?" Naruto yelped, stumbling back.

"Naruto, this isn't a fight we can interfere in," said Gaara calmly. "You need to stay back. This man is on an entirely different level than the Snow shinobi we encountered earlier. From the stories I heard about this man, I doubt anyone other than Konan-sensei could take him on."

"Eh? He's really that strong?" sputtered Naruto, looking to Hanzo with a surprised expression. "He doesn't look that strong…."

"Such disrespectful brats you have following you around, Konan," said Hanzo, his kusarigama jingling as he moved into a crouched stance. "The Angel of the Hidden Rain…. You've grown up to be a powerful kunoichi, I can tell. Nothing like that frail coward I captured so many years ago. But unfortunately for you, my skills have not dulled with age. So I'm going to give you this chance to hand over the princess peacefully before any unnecessary blood is spilled."

"Unnecessary blood?" Konan repeated slowly. "You think you have the right to say such a thing after what you did?"

"…No, I suppose I don't," said Hanzo. "I won't deny the fault of my actions. My position of power made me paranoid and clouded my mind. It certainly didn't help with that Danzo bastard manipulating everyone from the shadows. Yahiko was a good person – "

"Shut up!" Konan spat furiously. "You don't deserve to say his name!"

Hanzo lowered his head, almost remorsefully so, but did not take his eyes off his opponent. Naruto looked at his teacher's back, her shoulders shaking and her fists tightened so much he could hear her knuckles pop. He suddenly realized that this was the first time he had ever seen his Jonin instructor angry. Even if he wasn't as acute to sensing killer intent as Gaara, he could still tell that it rolled off of her in waves.

"Naruto, Gaara, Fu," Konan spoke suddenly, her words coming out in short bursts. "Assume Turtle Formation around the princess. Your mission is to protect Miss Kazahana at all costs. Don't involve yourselves in the fight. That will be your teamwork in this situation…. Hanzo is mine."

Konan lowered her head in a concentrated pose; the air in the forest seemed to have suddenly become noticeably thinner. Through her black cloak, two white spots started to form around her shoulder blades and stretch outward, expanding until it stretched above their heads. It was only when he looked at them that Naruto noticed they were made what must have been a million sheets of paper. The paper limbs flapped sideways, blowing a small gust in every direction, and everyone could see that they had taken the shape of a pair of white wings.

" **Dance of Shikigami!** " yelled Konan.

"Whoa…she looks like an angel," Fu murmured.

"The Angel of the Hidden Rain," said Gaara. "Now it makes sense.

"So cool…," said Naruto in awe.

"Well…it looks like you're planning on going all out from the start," said Hanzo. "That's good. I would have hated to kill you without a good fight."

"I don't give a damn what you want," said Konan scathingly. "I told Nagato it was a mistake to let you live, but he said there was a better way. Her was wrong. This is the only way. I'm going to correct his mistake and end your life here."

"Nagato…the boy with the Rinnegan…," Hanzo said in a low voice. "Yes…I still have nightmares from my encounter with him, bear many scars. But in a way, I'm grateful to him. After I was forced into exile, I started to see the world in a new light, traveled far and wide learning things I never would have while ruling over the Hidden Rain. I found something deeply precious because of it. That boy has my deepest gratitude."

"I don't want to hear another word from you," said Konan spitefully. "The time for talking has ended."

"Hmph, such a cliché line," said Hanzo amusingly. He dropped the sickle of his weapon by a foot and started swinging the blade in circles. "But I suppose you're right. I must kill that princess immediately."

Yukie gasped in fear and took a step back as Hanzo leered at her from afar. The Genin immediately took formation around her; Gaara stood in front with his hands raised at the ready while Naruto and Fu took either side with their kunai drawn. Hanzo noticed with a sharp eye that the snow was moving underneath the redhead's feet. He saw the faint traces of pale grain – sand, he assumed – drifting between the snow pile and the opening in his gourd. He had heard about such a child in his travels – getting past him wasn't going to be easy. And standing directly between him and the children was Konan, who started floating a foot off the ground with her wings outstretched, gazing down upon him like an angel of vengeance; the momentum in Hanzo's swings slowed slightly.

"It seems you taught these children how to defend properly at least," said Hanzo. "Against a normal adversary, they might be able to hold off for a few minutes. But you of all people know I am far from normal. But before I can get to them, I have to defeat you first, Konan."

The next time any of them blinked, Hanzo had suddenly vanished from sight; he was remarkably fast for someone of his advanced age. The Genin fidgeted left and right as they looked around for the Jonin, but it was Konan who spotted him first. She followed the feeling of killer intent to the nearby clearing closer to the frozen lake bed. Konan immediately glided around so that she stood between her students and Hanzo, crouching in a stance ready to battle.

"Hey, he's over there!" Naruto shouted to his teammates, being the first of the Genin to find Hanzo.

"How'd he get over there so fast?" gasped Fu.

Hanzo raised his left hand and brought it to the tip of his kusarigama before slicing the skin open, blood dripping between his fingers. He stowed away his weapon and wiped the blood across the back of his other hand before his fingers worked into a pattern of hand signs. Konan's eyes narrowed in on the hands.

' _Those are the signs for a summoning jutsu,_ ' thought Konan. ' _With the amount of chakra he's exerting, there's only one creature he could be summoning. Looks like he's not wasting any time.'_

" **Summoning Jutsu!** " shouted Hanzo.

The former Hidden Rain head slammed his open palm into the snow, and, for a very brief moment, a meticulous seal formed in the white powder before a heavy cloud of smoke exploded underneath him. Konan pulled her wings around to shield herself from the backdraft while her students tried to stand their ground; Naruto was, of course, the only one to fall over. When the gust had passed and the smoke started to thin, Konan grimace as she craned her head back.

Hanzo looked down on Team Konan from high above with his arms crossed confidently, standing atop what appeared to be a giant lizard. The beast was over twelve feet tall and its length took up most of the clearing; its bumpy skin was a murky brown and appeared to have no eyes. When the massive lizard exhaled a short breath, it made a small purple fog. Konan instinctively raised her arm across her face to cover her nose and mouth.

"Whoa! It's a giant gecko!" yelled Naruto in awe.

"That's a salamander, you idiot," said Gaara.

"What difference does it make!" snapped Naruto.

"Knock it off, you two!" Konan shouted, making the Genin jump. "Everyone, I need you to be serious! Gaara, be ready to use your Sand Shield to cover everyone! Princess, if you have any facial protection, now would be the time to put it on! Don't know how effective it will be, but it's better to be safe!"

"What's going on?" Yukie asked in a panic as she fretfully tied a bandanna around her face. "Just who is this guy?"

"Like I said, his name is Hanzo the Salamander," Konan, explained cautiously, never taking her eyes off the enemy and his beast. "He was the leader of the Hidden Rain village for the longest time, ever since I was a child. Because the Hidden Rain was in the center of three of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, our country was a common battle ground during the second and third Shinobi Wars, turning most of the villagers into war refugees like myself. Hanzo was our nation's only hope. With his unique poison-styled techniques, Hanzo was able to drive away most shinobi from our country, including the Sannin."

"P-poison?" Naruto stuttered fearfully.

"They say that when he was a boy, Hanzo found a black salamander with deadly venom residing in his village," said Konan. "When it died, he cut out its venom sac and sowed it into his own body in hopes of creating new poisonous techniques while he himself is immune to poison. But an issue arose where those who were around him died from the toxins that he breathed. So in order to prevent others from dying near him, he has been forced to wear that mask constantly. To this day, no one has figured out an antidote to the venom except for Hanzo himself. Hanzo often used our country's rain to spread his toxins to hundreds of enemies at once."

"If that's the case, then I should be the one to fight – " Fu started, before she was interrupted by Konan.

"Don't take this so lightly, Fu. Hanzo is a dangerous killer. If you breathe even a whiff of his poisonous fog, you'll die."

"That why I should – "

"It's not the poison that kills you," said Hanzo suddenly, making everyone raise their guard. "If left unchecked for an extended period of time, it will prove fatal eventually, but the toxins won't kill you right away. What it does is leave the body numb and eventually paralyzes the muscles, making anyone who breathes it in rendered immobile. I would often use this technique to paralyze dozens at a time before I would take my time slicing each and every one of their necks. But rather than explain it to you, a demonstration is in order. Ibuse!"

The salamander known as Ibuse inhaled deeply, bloating itself like an ugly balloon. When it seemed to stretch to its limits, the salamander exhaled a rolling cloud of purple fog. The spread from one end of the clear to the other and blanketed the forest in a matter of second, making it impossible for any of them to jump out of the way.

As Konan had instructed, Gaara brought his fists across hios chest and summoned the sand from his gourd to create a perfect dome surrounding his teammates and Yukie. At the same time, Konan used her wings as a momentary shield to block off the fog while simultaneously weaving a series of complicated hand seals. When she had formed the last symbol, Konan took a deep breath and shouted:

" **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!** "

Konan lurched forward and bellowed out a tremendous squall of wind. The powerful gust not only blew away the poisonous fog and the surrounding snow, making the rocky terrain below visible, but she also accidentally uproots several trees and sends them flying in Hanzo's general direction. With the poison fog cleared away, Ibuse the Salamander was spotted slowly crawling backwards before the trees fall on top of it, crushing the lizard underneath their combined weight. Ibuse squeaked and squirmed for a minute before it exploded in a puff of smoke, returning to wherever it was that Hanzo had summoned him.

Konan leaned forward, leaning against her knees, her paper wings hanging flimsily on either side of her, as she tried to steady her erratic breathing. Then she coughed and held her throat tenderly.

"Damn it…that son of a bitch…," Konan cursed. "Did I beat him…? No, that was too easy. It took Nagato everything he had to bring him down twenty years ago, and that was with the Rinnegan. A man like Hanzo is tenacious as he is bloodthirsty. So if he's not with his pet, then where" – Konan gasped and spun around – "Oh no, the kids!"

The sand dome had done its work in keeping the poisonous fog out; Gaara had compacted the sand so firmly that it was difficult even getting air inside. Unfortunately, this also left them blind to whatever was happening outside the barrier. If he was just using the sand to protect himself, he would have been able to form a connection to his third eye and scout outside because the Sand Shield protected him automatically, but this time he needed to focus on keep his teammates protected as well. Yukie was kneeling on the ground behind Gaara with a noticeable tremble in her voice while Fu and Naruto stood on guard with kunai on either side, forming a perfect three-man defense triangle around the princess.

"Hey, whaddya thinks happening out there?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Probably some epic battle where they're throwing around a lot of amazing jutsu's," said Fu with a short whine. "Aw, it's not fair! I wanna see what's happening out there! I can't even hear a thing through this wall!"

"Be grateful I even took the time to protect you from Hanzo's poison," said Gaara coldly. "I could have just easily left you outside."

"You should have," said Fu, frowning. "I keep trying to tell you guys, I'm – "

"How can you children be taking this so lightly!" Yukie snapped; Naruto and Fu jumped away with a small yelp. "There is a creepy old man with poison breath that once to kill me!"

"Don't you worry about a thing, Princess Gale," said Naruto with a wide grin.

"I thought her name was Princess Fujikaze," Fu piped in.

"It's Princess Kazahana," Gaara answered dryly.

"Whatever!" Naruto yelled at his teammates. "The point I was trying to make was that you shouldn't have to be scared, princess. I swore that I would protect you with my life, and Naruto Uzumaki never goes back on his word! I won't let that creepy iguana guy kill any of my friends!"

"I wonder about that…"

Naruto, Fu, Yukie, and even Gaara all froze up with tension. That voice belonged to Hanzo and they could hear it as if he were standing next to them. He was inside the dome.

Somehow, someway, Hanzo had slipped his way inside the sand dome undetected even when it was being guarded by three shinobi. He stood directly behind Naruto, Gaara, and Fu all at once and loomed over Yukie's stiffened backside with the tip of his kusarigama blade barely an inch away from the princess's spinal column. Gaara's mind seemed to have frozen with the rest of his body that he couldn't figure out to drop the Sand Shield to let Konan inside.

"It's over," muttered Hanzo.

Hanzo raised his sickle overhead and started to swing down on top of the princess. But at the very last second, Fu snapped out of stupor and jumped in between. The mint-haired kunoichi gritted her teeth as the blade punctured through collarbone, coming dangerously to her jugular. When they saw their teammate take the blow, Naruto stumbled backwards and fell on his butt while Gaara calmly collected Yukie before jumping away, dropping the dome around them. Fu, on the other hand, stood her ground, cringe as the sickle lodged itself deeper into her collar spilling copious amount of blood mixed with what looked to be some type of purple liquid that was originating from the weapon.

"That was a brave, but foolish mistake," said Hanzo. "My blade is laced with a concentrated dose of the poison that comes from Ibuse. It's ten times more effected than the regular dosage. By now, you should already start to feel your body seize up and it will only be a few minutes before your central nervous system shuts down and you'll begin to experience total organ failure."

"Yeah…," said Fu softly. She slowly raised her head and, to Hanzo's amazement, was grinning from ear to ear. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Before Hanzo had a chance to recover, Fu's fist flew up and connected with the underside of his chin. The former leader of the Hidden Rain was sent flying back by over a dozen feet. His hand was still gripped on the chain of his kusarigama, so it naturally stung when it was forcefully ripped out of Fu's collar; Fu cursed loudly and dropped to her knees with a hand over the wound. Unfortunately, Hanzo caught himself in midair and landed safely into a crouch stance on the opposite end of the forest while Naruto, Gaara, and Yukie surrounded Fu with worried expressions.

"Fu, are you all right?" gasped Naruto.

"Well, I got a gaping hole in my shoulder," said Fu jokingly. "Other than that, I'm just fine."

"Let me treat that," said Yukie urgently. She shoved Naruto aside, ripping the bandanna from her face, and used it as a makeshift bandage. "My god, that's deep. It could be infected. We need to get you to a real doctor soon."

"Aw, you're worried about me," Fu cooed teasingly. "Did I melt your frozen heart a little, princess?"

"Sh-shut up!" Yukie sputtered embarrassingly.

"This doesn't make sense," said Hanzo. "You shouldn't be able to move."

"That's what I've been trying to tell everyone," said Fu, carefully standing up with Yukie's help. "I'm naturally immune to all types of toxins. Your poison has no effect on me."

"That would have been nice to know earlier," said Gaara bluntly.

"I kept trying to tell you guys," said Fu irritably, "but someone always keeps interrupting – "

"If poison won't work, then we'll do it the old-fashioned way!" shouted Hanzo.

Hanzo tossed the Kusarigama in a high arc above their heads and pulled the chain to rip it downwards over top of them when Konan suddenly zoomed in out of nowhere and deflected the blade with her paper wing. The Salamander grimaced under his mask, pulling at the chain to call his weapon back, but Konan quickly crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. She flapped her wings against Hanzo's wrists, ripping them open with a very severe case of paper cut and ultimately forcing him to drop the kusarigama, which landed several feet away from them with a dull thud. Hanzo attempted to retreat backwards, but with a flap of her wings, Konan was already on his back with kunai made of paper forming in her hand. She held the makeshift knife to his throat and leaned in close to his ears, speaking with a chilling tone.

"Don't even think about moving," Konan hissed with every bit of venom she could muster. "I've been waiting a long time for this, you bastard."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original version made by Zero the Leech, he gave Fu the ability to harden her skin, which I think was supposed to play on the beetle's outer shell. Well, this was created long before Fu was ever debuted in a character since they completely ignored her in the manga and it took a long time before she premiered in the anime. The most we know is that she can produce powder and threads based on insect abilities, so I also gave her the immunity from toxins because many insects are poisonous as well. It'll still be a long time before she can perform poison techniques herself – probably won't get around to it until Shippuuden era.


	7. My Strength

Nobody made a move or sound; the forest had become unnaturally silent. Naruto stood beside Fu, who was nursing a wounded shoulder, while Yukie stood on her opposite side and Gaara crouched in front of them. All four of them were leering through the trees at Hanzo, his wrists bleeding openly and Konan, whose wings stretched around the both of them, with a paper kunai held to the older man's throat.

"Don't even think about moving," Konan hissed with every bit of venom she could muster. "I've been waiting a long time for this, you bastard."

"W-wow! That was awesome!" shouted Naruto.

"Way to go, Konan-sensei!" cheered Fu.

Gaara's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Hanzo was a legend; there was no conceivable way they could have defeated him in only a handful of moves.

And then, without warning, Hanzo started to chuckle ominously; Konan frowned.

"Is there something funny about this?" said Konan. "I have you at an inch from death. One cut at the jugular, and you'll bleed out."

"I'll admit, it was my mistake for underestimating you due to our shared past," said Hanzo amusingly. "But you also made a lethal mistake, didn't you, Konan?"

"Mistake?" Konan repeated. "What're you talking about?"

"Are you honestly telling me that you haven't noticed it yet?" asked Hanzo, chuckling. "Probably still pumped full of adrenaline to see it, but now that you've calmed down, you'll start to feel it soon enough…or more specifically, you shouldn't be feeling anything."

His eyes traveled downward to Konan's hand, which was shaking so subtly it almost went unnoticed, and he could hear her breathing becoming heavier.

"Even though the boy from the Hidden Sand put up a dome to protect them from Ibuse's toxic gas, you knew it wouldn't be enough to repel the entire cloud. Airborne toxins have ways of mingling with everything they touch in their surrounding environment, from the snow beneath our feet to the trees above our heads. And Ibuse's poison is so potent than even the slight scent could prove fatal. That's why you used that Wind Jutsu to blow the gas cloud safely away from the children. But in doing so, you had plenty of exposure to the toxins yourself. The paralysis should be setting in right about…now…."

At the exactly moment he called it, the paper kunai fell apart into several sheets of harmless paper in the snow, and then her wings were plucked moments later. Hanzo stepped to the side as Konan fell to her knees, her breath coming out in choked gasps.

No, Konan-sensei, what's wrong?" gasped Naruto.

"She's been poisoned," said Gaara simply.

As she started to fall forward, Hanzo held his foot underneath Konan's stomach and promptly kicked her into the air with enough force to send her high above the treetops. The former leader of the Hidden Rain stooped down and spun around, snatching up his Kusarigama and quickly throwing the chain upwards. The weighted chain shot past Konan until Hanzo tugged from his end and started looping the links around her midsection, binding her arms to her sides. The weight looped around three times before it went taut. Hanzo gave the Kusarigama one last hard pull and dragged Konan back to the Earth, smacking her so hard on the ground that she bounced once and rolled off to the side.

Konan groaned weakly, her limbs completely paralyzed. The only benefit to all this was that the numbness of the poison reduced the amount of pain she should have experienced, though Hanzo was hardly done with her. She could feel herself being dragged across the ground by the chain, carving a path into the snow, until her face was only inches away from his heels. Hanzo reached down and grabbed her roughly by her hair, forcing her to stand on her knees.

"Now isn't this a familiar scene?" said Hanzo tauntingly. "I believe we were standing just like this twenty years ago. You're still as helpless now as you were then."

"I would tell you what to do with yourself," said Konan faintly, "but I can't say it in front of children."

"Hmph! Cheeky as ever," said Hanzo amusingly.

"Konan-sensei!" shouted Naruto worriedly.

"I can't believe that Konan-sensei got taken out like that," said Fu.

"That was Hanzo's plan from the beginning," said Gaara calmly. "He knew that Konan-sensei would prioritize our safety over her own. He exploited her weakness and turned the situation into his advantage."

"There are two flaws in your logic, boy," said Hanzo sternly. "First of all, I had no intention of using you children as a means to weaken Konan. My entire plan was simply to douse you all in poisonous gas and take you all out one-by-one; I never imagined any of you being able to escape the gas. To use others as a means to strike a blow to an enemy is a coward's way out."

"That didn't stop you with Yahiko," Konan hissed.

"Yes, and I've been forced to live with that shame for twenty years," said Hanzo somberly. "Which brings me to my second point. Caring for others can be seen as a weakness, but it can also be a reason to become stronger. I look into your eyes, boy, and I see little compassion in them."

"I doubt a former warlord has any right to talk about compassion," said Gaara coolly.

"You'd be surprised," said Hanzo. He pulled at his Kusarigama, raising Konan halfway up to her feet to make a point. "But this isn't the time to be debating ethics. You've given me a hard time, Konan. More than anyone else has in a long time. I can't tell if it's because you've gotten stronger, or old age is finally catching up to me. Either way, I can't have you interfering any longer – Lord Doto has me on a strict timetable."

"So my uncle was the one that sent you," said Yukie, glaring at him.

"Yeah," Hanzo confirmed with a nod. He pulled the chain around his should so that he was carrying Konan on his back. "So I will save you for last, Konan. First, I'll get rid of your students, and then I'll take care of the princess."

" _Damn it_ ," Konan thought furiously. " _I didn't think he would still be this strong after all this time._ "

"Grr…don't look down on us just because we're kids!" Naruto scowled, forming a sign with hand hands. " **Shadow Clone –** "

"Too slow!" yelled Hanzo.

In the blink of an eye, the former ruler of the Hidden Rain has crossed the distance between them, getting right up into Naruto's face. The Hidden Leaf Genin yelped and staggered backwards, but Hanzo spun around so quickly that Naruto hadn't realized he had been kicked in the face until he was flying over Gaara, Fu, and Yukie. His forehead protector came undone in midair and landed in the snow with a soft  _ **thump**_ ; Naruto flopped on his back nearby.

"Naruto!" Yukie cried.

"Son of a – !" wailed Fu.

The mint-haired Kunoichi pushed Yukie behind her and took one giant step closer toward Hanzo as she swung her fist at his head. The older Shinobi deftly sidestepped to the left, spinning around in a full circle so that Konan's feet were swinging at Fu. She barely managed to tilt her head back far enough to dodge Konan's heels when she felt something tugging around her chest and looked down. Hanzo had managed to hook the blade of his kusarigama through the area where the red cloth of her yet unknown container intersected. He pulled her closer and kicked her with enough force to knock the wind out of her, causing her to double over and leave herself open for an elbow strike to the back, which threw her down into the snow. Fu started to push herself up by her hands when she was suddenly lifted off the ground by the back of her shirt. Hanzo listlessly tossed her sideways where she was used as an unwilling shield to block and oncoming flow of concentrated sand. Hanzo ducked down as Fu was sent flying overhead and stood up to face Gaara.

The Hidden Sand Genin gritted his teeth and called forth all the sand from his gourd, shaping it into a massive three-clawed hand. As the claw came down on top of him, Hanzo performed a one-handed seal and seemingly flickered out of existence shortly before the Gaara's attack slammed the ground. The Sand Genin grunted in frustration looking side to side for him when the sand suddenly flared up behind him and solidified into a wall. Gaara slowly turned to look over his shoulder, spotting Hanzo standing there with his blade only a foot away from Gaara's head.

Hanzo hummed thoughtfully.

"How were you able to find me?" asked Hanzo curiously. "I could have sworn I masked my presence well."

"The Sand Shield reacts regardless of my will," said Gaara monotonously.

"I see…," said Hanzo slowly. "I've never heard of such a technique before. You may be the most interesting one out of the whole bunch However" – He reached his free hand up to grasp his mask – "I have no time to admire; I have a schedule to keep."

"No…Gaara…get away…, said Konan, grimacing.

Hanzo slowly lifted his mask a few inches off his face to expose the lower half of his mouth. When he exhaled, a small fog of purple mist floated past his lips and he blew it in Gaara's face. The Sand Genin tried to cover his face in his hands, but he had already breathed in the fumes. The effects were almost instantaneous: Gaara dropped to one knee, coughing in his arm, as the Sand Shield fell apart at his feet.

"Don't worry, the dosage you received wasn't as strong as what your teacher has," said Hanzo, replacing his mask. "At most, it will leave you stunned for a couple of hours. By that time, I'll have already finished my mission."

"Why not just kill us and get it over with?" asked Gaara, glaring.

"Hey, now, don't go giving him any idea," groaned Fu

Hanzo stood up straight and took a moment to oversee the results of his victory. Naruto was lying helplessly on his back like an upturned turtle sporting a bloody nose from when Hanzo kicked him in the face. Fu was on her hands and knees towards Naruto's left, crawling up to a tree and leaning against it for support; a large tear in the back of her shirt and a bruise where the sand struck her and a makeshift bandage on her shoulder. And then Gaara, struggling just to stay on one need with sweat beading down his forehead and his left eye twitching as he staved off the toxins that were entering his bloodstream.

Though most of his face wasn't visible, Hanzo's brow seemed to furrow.

"The three of you were given your forehead protectors and believe you are adequate enough to be called Shinobi," said Hanzo darkly. "But Shinobi refers to someone who has gone through numerous life and death situations. In the Hidden Rain, even in the Hidden Mist, children were forced to become Shinobi because of their bloody histories. In these times of peace, you children have been coddled like helpless infants. I'll even be willing to bet this is the first time you've ever been so close to death.

"By letting you live, I hope this will enlighten you to what the true life of a Shinobi is meant to be. A life of uncertainty, filled with pain and loss. If you are strong enough to endure it, then you will doubtlessly grow stronger for it. Otherwise, you're just wasted space."

"Who gives you the right to decide that, you – " Gaara grunted.

" **Dance of Shinigami!"**

Hanzo paused in a momentary shocked state when a pair of paper wings suddenly sprouted behind him. Before he could make a move to defend himself, the wings suddenly came down over his shoulders and intersected around his chest, tightening and locking into place like a straightjacket. Blinking, Hanzo looked over his shoulder back at Konan, noting that her pale complexion wasn't any better than usual until he caught a faint green glow in his peripheral vision. His eyes traveled downwards to her hands, which were coated in green chakra and seemed to be cutting into her legs, injecting the chakra directly into her bloodstream.

"So you've mastered Medical Ninjutsu over the years," said Hanzo approvingly. "It will only provide you temporary relief, though. Ibuse's poison is so potent that no one other than Tsuande could create a cure."

"I don't need a cure, I just need to buy time," said Konan, hissing and taking deep breaths as she spoke. "Everyone! Grab Princess Kazahana and run for it! You can't win against him! I'll try to keep him trapped here for as long as I can. He can't perform any Jutsus with one hand, so this is the best chance you have to escape!"

' _Run away?_ ' thought Gaara, scowling in frustration. ' _You've got to be kidding me. That option was gone the moment you were caught. Even if we ran away, sooner or later, Hanzo would come after us again. It pains me to admit it, but his experience and poison-styled Ninjutsu makes him an enemy even I can't defeat. On top of everything else, he's clearly a master of the Body Flicker Technique by the way he was able to breach the Sand Shield without any of us noticing. If we started running now, it would only be minutes before he caught up again. In the end…we have no other options left…. In order for us to survive, our only option is to rescue you._ '

"Even if my body can't move," Gaara said aloud, "The Sand Shield can still destroy you."

He threw out his hand, as heavy as it felt, and called forth the sand to fly towards Hanzo in eight steady streams. The Salamander made a scoffing noise and, with a grunt of effort, pulled his arm free and ripped the paper wings apart, much to Konan's shock.

"You didn't really think that would have been enough to stop me, did you?" said Hanzo tauntingly. "Such a wasted effort."

As the rivers of sand came bearing down on top of them, Hanzo casually sidestepped the first strike before leaping over the second stream aimed at his ankles and then bended sideways in midair to avoid a third, all while keeping his hold on Konan. He flipped backward to land safely on his feet and immediately jumped backwards to avoid two sand strikes that attacked him from either side simultaneously. But what Hanzo didn't realize is that Gaara had been purposely leading him to a spot in the clearing that was suspiciously clear of snow, and when his foot touched the ground, Gaara raised up his hand and closed his fingers into a fist.

Three spikes of sand suddenly exploded out of the ground and stabbed at Hanzo's back while purposely avoiding Konan. The sand pierced him from behind, ripping through his protective vest, and coming out through his chest. And for one brief moment, Gaara had thought he had actually defeated the great Hanzo the Salamander; he felt an unfamiliar sense of pride and accomplishment. But just as quickly as his confidence started to swell, it instantly deflated the sand turned a sickly-purple color and crumbled away. Hanzo brushed his hands around the areas where the sand had punctured him, purple fluid spilling through in tiny rivers down his front; he buried his fingers in each of the holes, stopping the flow immediately.

"Very impressive," said Hanzo complimentary. "However…."

Hanzo flickered out of existence.

Before Gaara could even realize what had happened, he suddenly felt a powerful pressure on his stomach that he had never experience before in his life. Hanzo had appeared directly beside Gaara, too fast for the Sand Shield to catch him, and raised his foot to drive it into the Sand Genin's stomach; Hanzo did notice that Gaara seemed heavier than he looked, but didn't think on it too much. The unseen strike had lifted Gaara off the ground and threw him back face forward into the snow close to Naruto.

"Gaara!" cried Fu.

"G-Gaara was…," Naruto shuddered. The shivers that were climbing up and down his spine were not from the cold, but from the thrill of terror that was starting to wash over him. "T-This…this is Jonin level…a real Shinobi…. We've got to run…at this rate…. He'll…he'll…he'll kill us all!"

Naruto turned around like a coward, trying to run away, not thinking of what might happen to Konan or the princess, not concerned about the fate of his teammates. All he knew was that he had to run away. He started to crawl until his left hand touched the ground and felt a sharp, stabbing pain through his glove. He winced, bringing his hand up to his face and removing the glove. Underneath he found the bandage that Konan had used to close the wound he had created when he stabbed himself with the kunai. In that moment, his mind wandered back to the vow he made when he stabbed himself…and remembered what happened after….

* * *

_**Flashback** _

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Naruto whined. "That hurts…."

Then you shouldn't stab yourself with a knife, now should you," Konan scolded him.

While Gaara was assigned to interrogate the rogue Snow Shinobi that acted them and Fu tried to pry more information out of Yuki, Konan had taken Naruto to the side of the road as she applied antiseptic to his wound and bandaged it up properly, even though it seemed pointless considering the Nine Tail's chakra could heal him better than she could. But she needed to maintain the illusion that she was unaware of the Tailed Beast for now – she didn't need to push such a heavy burden on his just yet.

"And that should just about do it," said Konan as she finished tightening the gauze. "It'll heal up on its own, but please don't stab yourself again. We don't have a hospital supply of medicine on hand."

Naruto didn't say anything, only nodding and looking dejected, which seemed unusual for her hyperactive student.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Konan asked worried. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Konan-sensei…," mumbled Naruto. "Do you really think I can be a Shinobi?"

"What?" said Konan, taken aback. "Of course you can. Why wouldn't you?"

"It's just that…," said Naruto miserably, "Fu is super strong and punch craters in the ground and Gaara has a whole ton of ninjutsu that he can do with his sand. Even you have your paper ninjutsu. All I can do is some basic taijutsu and spam out shadow clones. I guess when I compare myself to the rest of the team, I'm not really all that special."

He looked up at his teacher with a frown, but was surprised to see that a smile was forming on her lips.

"Is that what you were worried about?" said Konan with a hint of amusement. "Naruto…being a Shinobi isn't about being the strongest or having the most ninjutsu or even having particularly unique skills. Being a Shinobi is about having the will to fight for what you cherish and having the strength to protect it with your own two arms no matter how impossible the odds may be. I believe the Hidden Leaf has a philosophy about that. They call it the Will of Fire."

"The Will of Fire?" Naruto repeated.

"And besides," Konan continued, "you may not have super strength or a unique jutsu, but you do have something that neither Gaara nor Fu have. This…" she said, poking a finger at his forehead protector. "Your mind is your greatest strength."

"My mind?" said Naruto, looking very confused.

"Lord Hokage told me all about you," said Konan. "You've been pulling off spectacular pranks ever since you were little and have repeatedly outsmarted the brightest Chunin, even a couple Jonin and ANBU forces as well. Not many kids your age can say that they've ever accomplished such a feat. So relax. Gaara and Fu may be the fists of this team, but you, Naruto, you're the head of this group. I know that when the time comes taht our team is in a serious pinch, you'll be the one to pull us through. That is your strength."

_**End Flashback** _

* * *

His strength…. Naruto had almost forgotten about that moment. It had seemed so insignificant at the time, that Konan was just saying whatever to make him feel better. But now…when his team was in a serious pinch just like Konan had predicted…he was going to run away like a coward. Naruto clenched his bandaged fist, welcoming the pain that came with it; shame filled his heart and stomach. How could he have been so selfish? How could he think about abandoning the person who had so much faith in him…the people he had only known for a short while, but have come to cherish as his friends?

He almost broke his vow…but never again.

He slowly raised himself to his feet, hands hanging listlessly at his side, and his head bowed so that his hair covered his eyes. Hanzo's eyes narrowed suspiciously; Gaara and Fu looked to their teammate with a mixture of worry and fear. And, very slowly, Naruto turned towards Yukie, who had taken cover behind a nearby tree.

"Hey, princess…," said Naruto, "toss me my headband, will ya?"

Yukie looked startled at being addressed, but look down in the snow nearby and spotted the forehead protector emblazoned with the Hidden Leaf crest half buried in the snow. She reached down to pick it up and threw at him with all her strength. Naruto snatched the headband out of the air, grinning as he casually tied it around his head. The whole time, Gaara and Fu were staring at their teammate; they have never seen him so calm before.

Once his forehead protector was properly adjusted, he turned back around to Hanzo with a wicked smirk.

"Oy, lizard breath," Naruto insulted him. "You wanna see how strong we are, right? Then remember this: I'm the man who will one day become the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Everyone became quite still, all staring at Naruto with various forms of expression. Hanzo was frowning under his mask, Gaara looked at his teammate as if he had never seen such a creature before, Konan's face curved into a worried frown, and Fu and Yukie were gazing at him open-mouthed.

' _When I first met this boy, he seemed so unreliable,_ ' thought Yukie. ' _But now, he seems…different…._ '

"Gaara! Fu-Chan! I'm gonna need your help!" Naruto called to his teammates. "We're going to save Konan-sensei!"

"And how're we gonna do that?" asked Fu uncertainly.

"I've got a plan," said Naruto proudly.

"That doesn't make me feel any better – "

"We should listen to him," Gaara interrupted her, startling the Waterfall Genin. "This is the first time Naruto's ever been willing to work as a team. If he has something that can get us out of this mess, then I'm willing to listen."

' _Whoa, Gaara's never listened to anyone before_ ," Fu thought, eyes wide in surprise. ' _This is more serious than I thought. I think these guys are…working together for a change._ '

"All right, team, listen up," said Naruto confidently. "Because here's what we're gonna do."

Hanzo couldn't hear what he said next because Naruto purposely lowered his voice so that only his teammates could listen. Hanzo lowered his head in a grimace; even though they were only children, they gave him an uncomfortable feeling not only in his stomach, but also the scar on his chest hidden underneath his jacket. He heard the boy's name loud and clear – Uzumaki. He knew about the Uzumaki Clan and their destruction during the Second Shinobi World War when the other countries began to fear their sealing techniques. According to rumor, only a handful of survivors still remained today, including Nagato. Hanzo couldn't be sure if he was really an Uzumaki since their clan was known for their bright-red hair….

"You're trembling," Konan whispered suddenly.

It was true – Hanzo's hand was shuddering slightly. He held it steady with his other hand.

"Does that name stir up old memories?" said Konan. "I know I was surprised when I first found out – "

"I know what you're trying to do, but it won't work," said Hanzo firmly. "The boy may be able to talk a big game, but does he actually have a plan? Times are different when we were children. In our own respective eras, our lives have been clouded by endless war. By the time I was that boy's age, my hand had already been stained red with blood. And you – you are no different. I remember hearing tales of your exploits. About how three children from the Hidden Rain killed over a hundred invaders from the Leaf, Stone, and Sand in pursuit of idealistic peace. And that was before you had amassed your numbers and formed that group of yours…. I've forgotten, what was it called again?"

"Akatsuki…," said Konan in a low voice.

"Ah, yes, now I remember," said Hanzo. "Every single one of your group's members were orphans who had lost their families because then Great Nations waged war under the pretext of extending fair rights when it was really a means to expand territory. Tell me, after all these years, do you even remember the image of your father's face, or the sound of your mother's voice?" Konan didn't answer, pointedly looking away. "Yes, of course you do, but it was your whole reason for living, the reason why you wanted to grow stronger and take revenge on those who stole your childhood. That is what separates us from these children. We have endured the true horrors of war and it hardened us into what we are now. These children…they are too young to understand how cruel this world can be."

"Are you quite done rambling?" asked Konan calmly, catching Hanzo by surprise. "There's a lot about these children that you don't understand, and that's what's going to get you killed."

"You have that much faith in your students?" questioned Hanzo.

"Just wait and see," said Konan, smirking.

At the same time, Naruto, Gaara, and Fu separated as they finished going over the plan.

"Okay, I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to come up with something like that, Naruto," said Fu, sounding impressed. "But're you sure it'll work. Sounds a little risky."

"It has to work," said Naruto with determination. "Konan-sensei will die if we don't."

"I still can't move because of Hanzo's poison," said Gaara. "I won't be able to help much…."

"That's okay, Gaara," said Fu cheerfully with a thumbs-up. "Naruto and I can handle it from here. Right, Naruto?"

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered. "Let's go, Fu-chan! Full speed!"

Both Genin charged ahead, Fu taking the lead with Naruto closing in behind her.

"A direct assault?" said Hanzo questionably. "These children don't know when to learn. It looks like your confidence was misplaced, Konan."

"We'll see," Konan spoke in a knowing voice.

When they were within range, Fu leapt forward and threw her foot into a swinging kick aimed at Hanzo's neck. The Salamander immediately raised his free hand to block the strike with the side of his kusarigama, flecks of its poison spraying them both, but with no effect. What Hanzo didn't expect was for Fu to twist her foot around so that her ankle hooked around the handle. She used it as an anchoring point and turned her upper body, swinging her fist from over his head. Hanzo shook the chain of his weapon to loop around the Genin's wrist and forcefully pulled to that the punch barely clipped his shoulder. But just when he thought he had pulled it off, Fu surprised him by swinging her other leg around for a second overhead strike, which in turn forced Hanzo to defend with his forearm.

Hanzo grunted and nearly buckled under the pressure – each strike was like being trampled by an elephant. However, Fu still had one free hand left and balled it into a fist aimed at Hanzo's chest. With one hand occupied holding Konan and the other holding off Fu's multiple attacks, this left the Salamander with very few options. So in a brief act of desperation, he used the Body Flicker Technique to throw himself backwards, reaching halfway across the clearing in the blink of an eye.

Fu landed on her knees in the snow, leering at Hanzo at him from afar. Hanzo's breath started to become heavy.

' _That was too close,_ ' thought Hanzo. ' _Her taijutsu was flawless; there wasn't a single wasted move. Was this part of their plan…?_ '

" **Shadow Clone Justu!** "

Hanzo's eyes went wide and she failed to hold in his gasp. The snow around his feet suddenly exploded as his vision became clouded in a swarm of orange and yellow. What must have been dozens of Naruto's popped out of the ground, screaming loudly that Hanzo almost feared he would go deaf. But it wasn't the surprise attack or the fact that Naruto could use such a powerful jutsu at his age, but the sheer number that caught him off guard.

"Ten, twenty, twenty-four, thirty," Hanzo counted out loud, his eyes spinning around wildly. "Forty. This child is able to summon fourty clones at his age. But that's impossible a single shadow clone divides a user's chakra in half and evenly distributes chakra accordingly to the number summoned. To be able to summon thast many clones would require an inhuman amount of chakra."

"I told you not to underestimate them," Konan said mockingly over his shoulder.

The clones flew overhead in a domed formation, drawing kunai from their pouches and diving headlong at the Salamander. Hanzo grunted in annoyance as he whipped his kusarigama blade around to block the first clone coming in front the right and then spun around to stab another attacking from behind through the throat, making it vanish in a puff of smoke. Three more came in around his ankles, but Hanzo effortlessly leapt over their knives and swiped his blade in a circle, slicing them through the backs of their heads and forcing them to disappear. When another clone came in from his side, Hanzo stepped back for a moment to dodge the kunai and then looped the chain of his weapon around the clone's forearm. Hanzo then pulled at the chain and started whipping Naruto around like a mace, smacking him into six clones at once before he vanished as well.

One by one, the shadow clone army was being wiped out while Hanzo still remained untouched. Even from a distance, Yukie could see that they were fighting a losing battle.

"It's impossible," said Yukie feebly, her nails digging into the tree. "There's no way we can win this…."

"Don't give up so easily," said Gaara coolly, snapping the princess out of her stupor. "Naruto's plan isn't over yet. There's still one more step."

After a quick free-for-all, the amount of Narutos had been drastically dwindled down to only six. Each of them were panting really hard and showing signs of injury; one of them was sporting a cut on his cheek before the poison forced him to disappeared, once again bringing their numbers down to five.

"You should just leave now," said Hanzo, though he sounded winded himself; old age was showing its effects. "Nothing you do will have any effect on me."

"Grr…don't get cocky just because you got a few lucky shots!" shouted Naruto.

One of the shadow clone charged on ahead of the others, raising his kunai recklessly over his head and leaving his entire front exposed. Hanzo saw it and immediately thrust forward, crossing the distance between them and stabbed the point of his kusarigama blade through the clone's chest. When the Salamander had been expecting the clone to explode into smoke like the others, he was caught by surprise when the clone started to lose color and form, becoming a pile of dusty grains. He quickly realized what had just happened –

"They hid a sand clone in with the rest!" cried Hanzo.

"Found out too late," said Gaara, clapping his hands together. " **Sand Binding Coffin!** "

The sand clone deformed and spread all along Hanzo's arm until it had reached his shoulder. The sand compacted itself to mold around his limb so that he ouldn't even move a finger and then stabbed into the ground, creating an anchor for itself. Hanzo tugged and pulled as hard as he could, but the sand cast wouldn't release – they had trapped him.

"Fu, take him out!"

Something flew into the air and Hanzo snapped his head up, spotting the mint-haired Kunoichi saoaring above with a wide grin.

"Hell yeah! Now's my time to shine!" Fu cheered. " **Hidden Waterfall Hurricane!** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got some people complaining that they don't like this story because Naruto is not an overpowered, unrealistically smart superhero, which I absolutely hate, by the way. The reason Naruto is so great is BECAUSE he's not some godly super genius. He's a loser that started out with nothing and worked his way up through hard work and dedication, which makes him better than characters like Sasuke who have everything easy because they were born with talent. And some people actually claim that Naruto only wins his fights out of luck – it's not luck. Every fight he has ever been in from Zabuza to Neji to Pain to Kaguya has been won because he uses strategy to win against stronger opponents, not because of some convenient plot device.
> 
> Okay, that's enough ranting for now.
> 
> Some people, I'm sure, are going to be wondering how Hanzo managed to hit Gaara when his sand shield should have defended him. At this early stage of development, Gaara's Sand Shield hasn't reached the point where it can defend against fast opponents or extreme shows of brute strength, as proven in his fight against Rock Lee in canon. Hanzo, who is a master of the Body Flicker Technique, could easily maneuver around it, which also serves as a way to further drive the point that Gaara has become too reliant on his sand to do all the work for him and needs to undergo further training to over come it.


	8. Angel of the Hidden Rain

Hanzo could hardly believe he had been driven back so far, and by a bunch of rookie shinobi no less.

Ankle deep in snow, surrounded by shadow clones in eye gouging orange, one arm trapped in compressed sand and the other holding on to the chain that bound Konan. The girl from the Hidden Waterfall soared over the battlefield with a maniacal grin as she clenched her hand into a fist.

"Hell yeah! Now's my time to shine!" Fu cheered. " **Hidden Waterfall Hurricane!** "

Fu punch her fist downward and shot like a bullet leaving the chamber of a gun, a whirlwind-like force flowing around her body. As she made her approach, Hanzo actually felt a sweat running down his brow. He knew, in that moment, if that hit connected, it would kill him. He pulled at the hand trapped by the sand one more time, before it wouldn't budge.

She was only feet away now; he could feel the wind she generated brushing against his hair. With his life in jeopardy for the first time, Hanzo's survival instincts took control of his body and released his grip on the kusarigama chain. He reached out, grabbed Fu's forearm, and forced her fist to change direction; the Waterfall Genin's knuckles barely brushed against his mask, scraping the surface. Fu's course was altered to smash through the binding around Hanzo's arm, splashing the sand all across the snow.

Both of his hands were free now and Fu still hovered in front of him in free fall. His eyes narrowed in annoyance, Hanzo raised the blade of his kusarigama over Fu's exposed brat.

"You little brat!" yelled Hanzo.

He swung the blade down on top of Fu when he suddenly felt his hand being pulled back as the Waterfall Kunoichi landed face first in the snow. Fu quickly flipped around on her back and Hanzo looked over his shoulder, eyes wide with shock.

Konan was holding Hanzo back with a firm grip around his wrist, her eyes narrowed with pure malice with the chains of the Kusarigama hanging loosely off her body and her other hand pressing down on her chest, glowing with green chakra. She took long, deep breaths – a sign of Hazno's poison still in effect.

"Konan-sensei!" shouted Fu ecstatically, pumping her fists in the air. "Yes! I can't believe Naruto's plan worked!"

"Maybe it didn't work," said Gaara from a distance. "Maybe we're actually under a Genjutsu."

"Damn it, Gaara, why can't you just give me credit!" shouted Naruto, agitated.

"Because it you," said Gaara simply.

"Naruto…," Konan called to him before he could retort. "It looks like you discovered your true strength. Your strategy was outstanding. You've grown up…all of you."

"Aw, it was nothing, really?" said Naruto, rubbing his nose with a cocky grin and laugh. "The purpose of the plan was never to take down Hanzo; he's way too powerful for a bunch of Genin to go up against. What we were really aiming for was to back him into a corner so he'd have no choice but to let you go. First, we sent in Fu-chan to distract him in close quarters combat since she is the best at Taijutsu, meanwhile I made a bunch of my shadow clones and hid them in the snow so that we could catch him by surprise when he was in position. We were hoping that he was too off guard by the attack to notice that Gaara had slipped a sand clone in the group. That way, when he attacked the sand clone, he'd get caught in Gaara's sand binding jutsu. Once he hand was struck, we had Fu attack him again so that he'd have no other way of protecting himself than letting you go."

"You didn't need to explain the whole thing, we already saw it," said Yukie with a blank look.

"He just loves to hear himself talk," said Gaara.

"Oi!" snapped Naruto.

"Still, everyone played their parts outstandingly in tandem in this desperate situation," said Yukie with a soft smile. "Even though they argue a lot, they still trust each other wholeheartedly."

"Now I see why you've taken an interest in these children, Konan," said Hanzo with an amusing chuckle. "I've honestly never met a team more unpredictable than those three."

"You were right about one thing, Hanzo," said Konan in a low voice. "They are different from our generation – they're better. Even though they're from different nations, even if their villages still hold silent wars against one another, they are able to overcome those differences and work together as a team. You, who selfishly hoarded all the power of the Hidden Rain for yourself, wouldn't understand that."

"Hmm…perhaps…but that is in the past," said Hanzo. "I've also changed since the last time we met."

"I find that hard to believe," said Konan. "I'll tell you right now, the same trick won't work on me twice. So what will you do?"

Hanzo said nothing in response to the question; he stood rooted in place, his eyes never wavering from Konan's. So while he wasn't looking, Gaara gathered the clumps of sand underneath Fu and carried her back on a sand cloud, depositing her on his left side at the same time Naruto ran back to join them.

"Naruto, Fu, stay on alert," said Gaara. "Don't let Hanzo near the princess."

"Yeah/Right," Naruto and Fu spoke over each other, moving to block Yukie from Hanzo's view.

The snowy forest was still with silence…until Konan heard the sound of crunching snow from below and chance a glance downward. She barely glimpsed a look at Hanzo's foot digging underneath the weighted end of his kusarigama before he kicked it up, shooting the heavy iron rod at her face. Konan leaned back to dodge the weight, and Hanzo immediately lunged forward with and open palm strike. Konan crossed her arms over her chest to block the hit, but the power behind Hanzo's strike still managed to lift her off the ground and send her flying back by several feet.

Konan caught herself in the air and flipped around to land safely on her feet at a crouch, sliding backwards a little in the snow. As the Hidden Rain Kunoichi straightened herself, Hanzo immediately dropped his kusarigama for the first time since the fighting began and began weaving his fingers into a series of hand signs, calling out the name of each one:

"Ram – Horse – Snake – Dragon – Rat – Ox – Tiger!"

But at the exact same time, Konan also started weaving hand signs of her own:

"Ox – Monkey – Hare – Rat – Boar – Bird!"

" **Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!** " shouted Hanzo.

" **Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!** " yelled Konan.

Hanzo leaned forward and exhaled heavily through his mask, somehow able to spark a flame without damaging his headgear. The tiny flame exploded outwards, stretching over ten times its original size and twisting around until it's shape resembled that of an evil-looking dragon. And at the same time, the frozen lake burst open, sending shards of ice flying in every direction as a current of water shot towards the sky, twisting around until it also assumed the form of a dragon.

The twin dragons of opposing elements twisted across the sky, circling one another without coming into contact, almost like a dance. But as they reached the peak of their climb, the curved backwards and dived at their summoner's opponent; the fire dragon for Konan and the water dragon for Hanzo. The two forces ended up headbutting each other halfway between them and a thick haze of steam burst to life upon contact. Naruto, Gaara, Fu, and Yukie all threw their arms over their heads as the cloud of hot air washed over them; the snow was melting all around them, dripping heavy pails of water from the branches of the trees.

' _Konan-sensei was able to read the signs, understand the jutsu he was shaping, and formed a perfect counterattack in an instant,_ ' thought Gaara, looking very impressed.

' _Holy crap…is this how Jonin fight?_ ' thought Fu, gritting her teeth against the steam.

' _What the hell were we thinking going up against him like at?_ ' thought Naruto with a grimace. _'We're out of our freakin' mind!_ '

In a few seconds, the steam cloud finally passed over; the air became clear enough for them to breathe again and the chill of the Land of Snow came rushing back to them. The Genin and princess combo immediately turned their attention back to the battle.

Hanzo had picked up his kusarigama again and was locked in a struggle against Konan's kunai. Despite the clear difference in size, the Angel of the Hidden Rain was actually holding her own, not giving Hanzo even an inch. He couldn't even use the weighted end of his weapon because Konan had formed pinned the chain to the ground with two other kunai beforehand, and Hanzo could pull them out without the risk of exposing himself to an attack. The most he could do now was stay locked in this stalemate….

But while everyone's attention was on the battle in front of them, none of the Genin realized that, in the trees just above their heads, Guren was slowly crawling out from her hiding spot. Her eyes were trained firmly on Yukie's back, her hand slowly slipping a kunai out from underneath her sleeve.

' _This is the perfect chance,_ ' thought Guren. " _I could kill the princess now and be done with it_ ….'

Her motions were purposely slow as to not draw any attention to herself, especially from that Sand Genin. She raised the knife over her head, her arm angled to hit the princess directly at the nape, which would kill her instantaneously. But just as she started the forward swing, Hanzo's eyes suddenly shifted directly towards her and Guren froze in place. Even from this great of a distance, Guren could tell exactly what the Salamander was thinking:  _Don't expose yourself. Stay out of sight._

Guren bit the inside of her cheeks in irritation, but nonetheless reluctantly lowered the kunai.

When she noticed that Hanzo's attention was elsewhere, Konan pushed all her weight against her kunai and shoved the Salamander away before jumping back to lengthen the distance between them. Hanzo used this brief respite to kick the kunai off his Kusarigama chain jumped away even further until they were on completely opposite sides of the clearing. The Salamander lowered himself in a guarded stance while sneaking a quick glance t Guren, who had thankfully hidden herself again. Unfortunately for him, Konan seemed to notice.

"You seem a little distracted, Hanzo," Konan called him out. "Is something on your mind?"

"Oh…it's nothing," said Hanzo slowly. "Just thinking of the many different ways I'll kill the princess after I'm finished with you. Ibuse has a special toxin that melts the flesh from bone…yeah, that would be a good way to do it."

Yukie squeaked and ducked behind Gaara after shoving Naruto out of the way; Naruto frowned in annoyance.

Konan, however, was not so easily convinced. No, he was looking at something, or someone. She took a quick look at Hanzo, making she he hasn't moved yet, and slowly roamed her eyes around the forest. Thanks to the steam melting the snow off the branches, it was surprisingly more difficult to find anything in the sea of evergreens; the whiteness of the snow typically made everything stand out more. Her gaze fell upon the Genin and Yukie for a moment, but then suddenly noticed something sliding out of the corner of her peripherals. Her eye traveled up the closest tree behind her students where she saw something in the shadow of the branches. Perhaps it was a bird, or maybe….

Konan suddenly tensed up; Hanzo had Body Flickered across the clearing and was standing in front of her, blade in mid-swing.

"Keep your eye on the battle, you fool!" yelled Hanzo.

The Salamander sliced his Kusarigama blade across Konan's chest, but only met with empty air as she suddenly exploded into hundreds of sheets of white paper. The pieces of paper fluttered around him like a tornado when they suddenly stopped in midair, forming a cylinder barrier that surrounded him from every angle. The paper folded simultaneously in on themselves like living origami, taking the shape of thin knives in seconds. The paper knives wasted no time flying at Hanzo in a tight formation, but the Salamander was already forming a series of hand signs by the time they had finished folding themselves.

" **Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation**!" he shouted urgently.

He thrust his hand into the snow and slammed his hand directly on the ground. The next moment, a great explosion ripped across the forest; a mushroom cloud of flames could be seen from miles away. The nearby snow was either melted or blown away and several of the surrounding trees were ripped up by their roots, sending them crashing down with heavy  _thuds_. Gaara had summoned his Sand Shield to protect his team and Yukie, forming a solid wall in front of them to block off the intense heat, but made sure to leave the back open; he wasn't going to take a chance of Hanzo Body Flickering past their defenses again and not give them an escape route.

Meanwhile, Hanzo leapt from the smoke and appeared to be making a run for the safety of the trees, but Konan suddenly zipped in front of him, only the upper half of her body reformed with her angelic paper wings sprouting from her back. She took a swipe at Hanzo with one of her wings and the former ruler of the Hidden Rain crossed his arms to block the strike, accepting the deep cut to his forearm as he was pushed back.

Hanzo dropped his arms to his side, fresh blood sliding down and dripping on the now-cleared forest floor, his breathing noticeable heavy and coming out in short, gasping bursts.

"You've exhausted yourself, Hanzo," said Konan. "You're not as young as you once were. It seems that time has taken a serious toll on your body."

"I don't need to be reminded of that," said Hanzo, panting and holding his chest. "I'm almost seventy years old. It makes sense that my body would grow weaker as I face the final years of my life."

"Then you know there's no point in continuing this," said Konan. "I'm giving you the chance to surrender right now, Hanzo."

"Oh," said Hanzo, sounding a little amused. "And are you going to let me live if I do."

"Not a chance," said Konan coldly. "The Hidden Rain council would love nothing more than to put you on trial for your crimes, but I'm not going to take the chance of you persuading them to let you go. And on the off chance that you are sent to prison, I imagine it would only take you a day or two to escape and then we'll be right back where we started. No, it would be better for everyone if I just put you out of your misery right now."

"Hpmh. That's your excuse," said Hanzo. "But we both know this is more personal. The reason you want me dead is because you want revenge…for Yahiko."

"I told you not to say his name!" Konan spat furiously.

Konan flapped her wings and sprayed Hanzo with a multitude of sharped folds of paper. Hanzo formed a quick series of seals and shouted, " **Fire Release: Flame Bullet!** " and breathed out a massive fireball through his mask and completely swallowed the oncoming paper blades. Konan flew higher into the air as the fireball passed underneath, crashing into the trees behind her and setting them ablaze. As she did so, Hanzo turned and hoped to use the fireball as a distraction while he ran to safety, but suddenly realized that he couldn't move his legs. The Salamander looked down and, with a gasp of shock, realized that both of his legs were wrapped up to his kneecaps in paper. And they weren't normal pieces of paper either –

"Explosive tag!" cried Hanzo.

"That's right, Hanzo," said Konan loftily as she floated overhead. "Ever since that day when Yahiko died, I always made sure to conceal a considerable amount of explosive tags inside my body mixed in with the rest of the paper. Does this scene look familiar to you, Hanzo? It should. This is the same trick you used to cripple Nagato for several years until Lady Tsunade saved him. I hope you can appreciate the irony."

"I'm not through yet!" said Hanzo, clapping his hands together. " **Fire Release –** "

"Go to hell," said Konan coldly, forming a seal with her fingers.

A single spark ignited the explosive tags and, before Hanzo could complete his jutsu, the paper bombs promptly exploded in his face.

The entire forest shuddered beneath their feet; Gaara grunted with effort as he continued to brace the Sand Shield against the explosion while Yukie clung to his back and Fu struggled to keep her footing; Naruto, obviously, fell flat on his butt. The aftershock seemed to last for a full minute –  _How many explosives did she use_ , Fu pondered – before the shakes started to subside and black smoke started blotting out the sky. Gaara didn't drop his Sand Shield right away; he wanted to be sure that the fight was really over before he put everyone at risk again. When they didn't hear any activity for a whole minute, Gaara eased the sand back into his gourd, but he didn't cork it just yet.

Naruto pulled himself up to his hands and knees and Fu immediately stepped forward to stand at their side. The three Genin waited until the smoke started to thin and they had a clear picture of the battlefield, but what they saw was not what they were expecting.

Konan had reform her body, dropping to her knees with her hand holding her side; a patch of blood was leaking through the material of her shirt and slipping through her fingers. With a grimace, she wrapped her hand around something attached to her abdomen and ripped it out sharply, spraying more blood across the ground. She winced from the brief pain and immediately mended the wound with her medical jutsu. She looked at the foreign object in her hand and looked taken aback by what it was.

"A crystal...?" said Konan surprisingly.

"I told you to stay hidden, Guren," she heard Hanzo's voice through the smog.

"Forgive me, Lord Hanzo, but I just couldn't stand by any long," there was another voice alongside his.

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Konan curled her paper wings and waved a huge gust of wind to blow away the smoke. The first person she saw when haze cleared was Hanzo; his cloak missing and the left half of his protective vest completely shredded, exposing the skin underneath, which was showing several degrees of burns, but none of them fatal. His legs, on the other hand, were black as coal, the skin severely cracked with rivers of blood sliding down into a pool of red beneath his feet. Because of the extent of damage done to his legs, he was unable to stand on his own and was forced to lean against someone for support.

That was the part that worried Konan.

The girl was very young, not that much only that Naruto and the others – Konan would have to put her around fifteen years of age at least. Konan hadn't sensed her presence at all, and, judging by the surprised look in Gaara's eyes, he hadn't noticed either. That was the most troubling part. Gaara was a much more effective sensory type than her, and the fact that she had managed to slip by all of them, slipped in a shot at Konan, and saved Hanzo before he took greater damage meant that she was naturally gifted kunoichi. And the way she was allowing Hanzo to rest his weight against likely didn't mean she was here to help them.

"Damn it…," Konan cursed as she slowly raised herself to her feet. "That Hanzo…should have known that when he was backed into a corner, he would have some kind of contingency plan. The coward…."

"Hey, hey," Naruto whispered to Fu, tapping her on the shoulder to catch her attention. "Where did that girl come from? And why's she helping Hanzo like that?"

"Huh? Are you serious?" said Fu, flabbergasted. "She's obviously one of Hanzo's subordinates, clearly trying to help him win because he knows he can't take on Konan-sensei by himself."

"That dirty cheater," Naruto growled. "We should go help Konan-sensei and even the odds."

"Stop and think for a moment," said Gaara before Naruto and Fu could take a step forward. "That girl got through all of us without any of us realizing it and prevent Konan-sensei's attack from reaching its full power. She's not someone we should be underestimating."

"Are you saying she might be more powerful than Konan?" asked Yukie worriedly.

Gaara remained silent; that was enough of an answer for them.

' _Given her pale complexion and small body structure, she's definitely not from the Hidden Stone, the Hidden Sand, or the Hidden Cloud villages,'_ thought Konan. ' _She might be from the Hidden Mist Village or even from the Hidden Snow Village, given where we are. But" –_ she looked down at the crystal in her hand – " _this isn't from an Earth styled jutsu – it's unique to itself. Could this girl be…._ "

"Lord Hanzo, I know you are gravely injured, but this could be an opportunity for us," said Guren, leering around at the opposing squad. "Their strongest fighter is weak, both from the battle and the poison coursing through her veins. The only real challenge left is the boy from the Hidden Sand. If we combine our powers, we can kill them easily – "

"That's enough, Guren," said Hanzo, making his young partner pause in surprise. "Our fight is over. It's time we headed back to base to recuperate."

"What are you talking about, Lord Hanzo!" shouted Guren aghast. "This is the moment we've been waiting for! They don't stand a chance if we – "

"You interfered when you shouldn't have, Guren," Hanzo scolded her. "This was supposed to be a duel between me and them; you were told specifically to only observe them so that, should I fall, you would better understand your opponents for when you inevitably came into conflict with them."

"You would have died if I hadn't jumped it," said Guren heated.

"Then it would have been an honorable death, but now you've gone and ruined it – we'll talk about your impatience later," said Hanzo. He reached behind to the pouch on his belt, dug through the contents, and pulled out a small bottle with purple liquid inside. "Konan! You have bested me this day! Had Guren not interfered, I would surely be lying dead at your feet right now. You have grown considerably since we last met twenty years ago. You have my admiration."

"I don't need anything from you," spat Konan.

"Oh, but I think you do," said Hanzo. He tossed the bottle across the clearing and Konan snatched it out of the air before it could hit the ground. "That vial contains the antidote for Ibuse's poison. Although immediate ingestion does not guarantee survival, if you combine it with your medical jutsu, the chances of you living through it will increase to sixty-two percent – that's better than most. Even if you manage to survive the poison, it will take you at least a week before your body can make a full recovery."

"Why are you giving me this?" asked Konan suspiciously. "There has to be some kind of catch."

"You were right about me before, Konan," said Hanzo solemnly. "I allowed greed and paranoia to get the better of me, and because of it, not only did a great man die, but I also lost my honor. And now, in the final years of my life, I seek to get it back. Your students" – he looked over to Naruto, Gaara, and Fu – "they have the potential to grow stronger than either of us. I look forward to when I can see that potential for myself…. Farewell, Konan. We  _will_ meet again on the field of battle. And next time, there will be no interference. Let's go, Guren."

Guren opened her mouth, looking like she was going to argue with the decision, but reluctantly closed her mouth and turned away with Hanzo leaning on her shoulder. Together they stumbled slowly into the thick forest and Team Konan only watched…or at least most of them did.

Before they had even reached the edge of the forest, Guren spun around and caught a kunai that had been aimed for her head. Konan gasped and looked to her team. Naruto had apparently been the perpetrator as Fu now had him in a headlock; Yukie was helping the still weakened Gaara by allowing him to lean on her shoulder as well.

"You idiot! What're you thinking?" she screamed, tightening her grip. "The fighting's over! We won! Why would you do something stupid like that to piss them off?"

"How can you say we won like that?" said Naruto defiantly, pulling at her arm. "Hanzo is getting away and no one is doing a thing about it! That guy was so strong…we couldn't even lift a finger against him…Konan-sensei was so close to dying…. And now we're just letting him go? With some girl who isn't even that much older than us? Aren't you even the least bit upset by all this? We're…we're so pathetic! I can't accept that!"

"Naruto…," said Gaara softly. "I understand where you're coming from. I've spent my whole life being the best, being untouchable, that people feared the very sight of me. And then Hanzo…defeated me so easily; it was like he was just toying with me. It's so…frustrating. But this is reality, Naruto. In this world, there are people younger than us  _and_ stronger than Hanzo. This may not have been the victory that any of us wanted…but it's one we're going to have to accept. As we are now…we can't beat them…."

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration, but said nothing in response.

"You may not be strong enough to fight me now…," said Hanzo calmly, "but I can sense great skill inside each and everyone one of you. So live, learn, and grow stronger with each day. When we meet again, you will be ready."

Guren threw the kunai down on the ground, shooting one last glare at Naruto before she carried Hanzo deeper into the forest. Team Konan started at their departing backsides until they were swallowed by the shadow of the trees. In their moment of silence, Naruto finally managed to pry himself from Fu's grip and dashed to the edge of the forest, but didn't dare to follow them inside.

"They're not here anymore," said Gaara. "I've completely stopped sensing their chakra. They must have Body Flickered away somewhere. It's over."

Naruto's breath hitched as he clutched his hands, his fists shaking furiously. He dropped to his knees and, in his anger, started punching the ground.

"What the hell was all this for?" yelled Naruto. "We were so useless! We couldn't do a damn thing! What was the point of all the training if all we're going to do is hide behind Konan-sensei? Even when we tried to help her, we could barely do a damn thing! Damn it!"

"That's enough, Naruto," said Fu in a soft voice as she grabbed Naruto's arm. "My brother warned me that things like this were bound to happen when you're a shinobi. He also said that instead of beating yourself over it, you should apply yourself for next time. You heard Hanzo – he  _is_ coming back. So when that does happen, let's make sure we're ready to meet him head-on."

Fu, very slowly, loosened her fingers around Naruto's wrist. Thankfully, he didn't start taking his frustration out on the ground again. Naruto continued to kneel in the dirt, hanging his head in shame, as the snow started to fall again on top of their heads.

"Our mission isn't over yet," Fu told him. "We have to help Princess Fujikaze take back her homeland. And to do that, we need to defeat her uncle, Doto."

"I can't believe you're still going to help me after everything you just went through," said Yukie, sounding shocked.

"We accepted this mission," Gaara grunted, wincing from a brief flash of pain in his chest. "If we were to back out now, we would disgrace ourselves as shinobi. But still, we need a place to lay low and gather our strength. There's no way any of us are strong enough to go up against the Daimyo in this condition."

"There is a safe house waiting for us in the Hidden Snow Village," said Yukie. "I have contacts with the rebellion. They'll offer us anything we need there."

"Sounds good," said Fu. She walked over to Konan, who was still kneeling on the ground with her head bowed. "Konan-sensei, we should get moving before the snow gets too deep."

Konan didn't move; she was still as a statue and just as silence. A flash of concern washed over Fu's face.

"Konan-sensei, are you - ?"

She touched her teacher on the shoulder and Konan suddenly fell forward like a falling log, smashing her face into the dirt. Fu gasped and took a step back; Gaara and Yukie looked just as horrified. When Naruto heard the crash, he immediately spun around and, noticing that his Jonin instructor wasn't moving, jumped up to his feet and ran to her, screaming loud enough for his voice to echo through the trees:

" _ **KONAN-SENSEI!**_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo is incredibly strong, definitely more powerful than Gaara and the other rookie Genin, but he has a vital weakness of being a shinobi while being of an advanced age, especially compared to someone as Konan, who is at her peak in her thirties. On top of that, it was said in the canon series that Hanzo's strength dulled from a lack of training when he was hiding from Nagato, which is why it was so easy for Pain to kill him. Combine these two facts, it seems logical that Konan would have a major advantage with Hanzo's poison being the only hindrance.


	9. The Leaf in the Wind

Konan's entire body felt like it was on pins and needles – she supposed it was better than feeling nothing at all.

Their battle with Hanzo and his mysterious new partner was still fresh on everyone's minds, considering it had only happened yesterday. They were able to make it into the Hidden Snow Village without being detected thanks for a group of Yukie's allies that had provided them with a safe house on the edge of the town. It wasn't much, just a two-floor household that blended in with the rest of the neighborhood, but it served its purpose. Konan was resting in a spare room on the first floor tucked warmly under a thick futon to keep her warm while her students sat around her.

Fu carefully raised Konan's head and held the vial that Hanzo gave them to her lips. Konan reluctantly sipped the liquid inside and cringed; it was incredibly bitter.

"Well, it looks like Hanzo made good on his word," said Fu, frowning and she set her teacher's head down. "You haven't died yet, so that means the antidote must be working."

"So that means she'll be all right?" asked Yukie worriedly.

"It seems that way…," said Konan, grunting as she tried to make herself comfortable. "But if Hanzo was telling the truth, then I won't be able to move properly for a week…."

"Then it would be better if you didn't move for a while," said Gaara.

Just then, they heard the front door open and shut; Naruto and Fu whipped out their kunai in defensive positions. They heard footsteps coming closer, but visibly relaxed when they were met with a kindly, gray-haired man with small black eyes behind a pair of minute glasses. He was carrying several small bags under his arms.

"I managed to find some good meat at the market," said the man. "I planning on making a hotpot for dinner – I hope there's enough for six people."

"You're being more than generous, Sandayu," said Yukie respectfully. "Thank you for letting us stay at your home."

"It's the least I could do for the rightful ruler of the Land of Snow," said Sandayu, turning to the foreign shinobi. "And, of course, the Land of Snow owes a great debt of gratitude to you for protecting Princess Kazahana during her return. I heard a rumor that you defeated Doto's elite squadron and a very powerful mercenary. That is truly impressive."

"Taking out Doto's goons was the easy part," said Fu. "But Hanzo, on the other hand…not so much."

"But we didn't even really beat him," said Naruto, frowning angrily. "He still got away. And he said he's coming back, too."

"But Hanzo will be gravely injured, even if he does plan on making a return," said Gaara. "You saw his legs. Even if he can heal his other wounds, it will be impossible for him to recover from something like that. The thing that has me worried is the girl that was with him. We weren't expecting her to be there, so we don't know a thing about her. Any ideas who she was, Konan-sensei."

"I can't give you an exact name," said Konan, humming in thought. "But I can give you an idea of what she might be. Based on her body type, we can assume she used to live in the Land of Water, meaning she might have once been a kunoichi from the Hidden Mist Village. The Hidden Mist has a long and bloody history that stretches all the way back to its founding. From the death of the Second Mizukage to the widespread defection of the Seven Swordsmen, the Hidden Mist has been involved in more tragedies than any other village in the continent."

"The Bloody Mist Village," said Fu. "My brother used to talk about how the Hidden Mist village had this savage graduation exam where students at the academy had to kill their friends. They were forced to change when one kid, who wasn't even a student, killed the entire graduating class."

"The Hidden Mist had some very dark times," said Konan. "Things started getting better when the Fourth Mizukage was inaugurated and he made reformations to the village's caste system, but their hands are already painted in blood. I heard that a rumor that the International Selection almost didn't go through because it was the Fourth Mizukage who suggested it. With a reputation like theirs, I can imagine why the other leaders would be mistrustful."

"This is all very interesting, but what does this have to do with the girl?" said Gaara impatiently.

"I noticed a symbol on the girl's clothes – it looked like a clan emblem," said Konan. "A few years ago, there was a widespread paranoia against certain clans because of their efficiency in times of wars. The people were afraid of what might happen should these clans ever turn on them. As such, they were heavily persecuted and murder of clan members became a common practice. More than half of the Hidden Mist Clans were wiped out as a result and any survivors went into hiding, afraid of what might happen if they were discovered."

"You think that girl might be one of those clan people?" asked Naruto.

"It's a thought," murmured Konan. "It would explain how she might have come across Hanzo. Perhaps they met by accident while she was in hiding and Hanzo saw her as a potential tool. Even with Hanzo's injury, we can't let our guard down. For all we know…she could be more powerful than him."

* * *

 

They had made it safely back to Kazahana Castle despite the snowstorm raging outside. Guren kicked open the door to Hanzo's provided chambers with enough force to leave a dent in the metal frame. She rearranged their position so that most of Hanzo's weight was on her as she practically dragged his body to the bed in the middle of the room. The Salamander's blackened feet scraped the stone floor; flakes of his skin were chipping off and fresh blood was starting to pour out. With a grunt of effort, Guren laid her superior on the bed as gently as she could.

"Thank you, Guren," said Hanzo gratefully. "I couldn't have made it without you."

"You're just lucky I was able to intervene before more damage was done," said Guren, frowning.

"But in doing so, you trampled on my honor, Guren," said Hanzo disapprovingly. "Don't do it again."

"I just don't understand you sometimes," said Guren, shaking her head with a sigh. "But if it makes you feel any better, the burns on your chest look like they'll leave some permanent scarring, but they won't hinder your ability to perform hand signs. Your legs, on the other hand, are way beyond the help of ordinary medical ninjutsu. The only person who could help you now is the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, and I don't see her going out of her way to save you even if we did have some idea where she was."

"The Land of Snow is the most technologically advanced nation in the Shinobi Continent," said Hanzo firmly, "even if it's production has been hindered by the Western Continent. Doto should have something lying around that could act as a brace for my legs, just enough to allow me to stand on my own two feet again."

"Doto isn't going to be pleased with you taking his devices without his permission," said Guren, frowning. "I already imagine he'll be furious once he finds out that you failed to kill the princess."

"I couldn't care less about what that blowhard thinks," Hanzo scoffed. "He's a puny man hiding behind skirts of his betters. Without his precious Chakra Armor available to him, Doto is a whimpering coward. Why else would he go as far as to hire outsiders?"

"Okay, but you're taking the blame for me when we get in trouble," said Guren, sighing and shaking her head. "I'll see what they have at their manufacturing plant. If they have something, it might take a couple weeks to get it ready – "

"I want it done in one week, Guren," said Hanzo shortly. "I need to be able to stand by then."

"You can't be serious," Guren sputtered, looking at her superior dumbfoundedly. "Even if they did come up with something to help your legs, it will take at least a week just for your legs to heal enough to wear them. And then it would take another week to get your legs acclimated to the new supports."

"I gave the antidote to Konan before we left, remember?" said Hanzo, his eyes narrowed though his breathing apparatus. "Taking the antidote doesn't automatically guarantee that the drinker will survive, but I know Konan will. She and her old gang have been known to defy the odds. I have no doubt in my mind that she will survive, and that she will need at least a week to recover before she is back to full strength. Once she does, they will likely go ahead with their plan to attack Doto's castle and remove him from his seat. We need to be ready by then."

"I can take care of them on my own," said Guren defiantly.

"You could have…if you hadn't been so foolish as to reveal yourself," said Hanzo, leering at his partner. "The reason why I asked you to hide was as to catch Konan and her students by surprise for when they arrived. But not only did you announce your presence to them, but you fouled up and revealed your special talent. By now, Konan will likely have figured out your background and has assessed techniques. She will be prepared for your next encounter."

"I – I didn't think of that," said Guren, stuttering anxiously. "I apologize, Lord Hanzo."

"There's no point in worrying about it now," said Hanzo, sighing deeply. "We have one week to have everything ready for the next battle. We should make the most of our time…."

* * *

 

When she finally found the strength to sit, Konan's brow furrowed in deep thought as she reached inside her pocket. She pulled out the bloodstained crystal that had been lodged into her abdominal region just before the girl had appeared. The surface was made from a rosy, transparent mineral that Konan could see through with unnatural clarity. It was completely different from ordinary crystals, which at least had something that could distort images. But this crystal was perfect, almost like glass, except it was as solid as a rock. It was not made through natural means….

"What's going on, Sensei?" asked Naruto curiously.

"What?" said Konan, forgetting that her students were still present. "Oh…right, to continue my story from earlier. After the Fourth Mizukage was inaugurated and began the reformation of the Hidden Mist's shinobi system, the remaining clans were carefully protected and their special techniques were closely guarded, so we can already narrow down the girl's identity by half. The clans that were wiped out during the Bloody Mist Era are the Yuki Clan, the Hozuki Clan, the Kaguya Clan, and the Akira Clan."

"We of the Hidden Snow have heard of the Yuki Clan," said Yukie suddenly, sounding serious. "My father once told me that when the Hidden Snow Village was first established, they based their fundamental technique's after the Yuki Clan's ice-based jutsus."

"Since Hanzo's partner showed no signs of using ice techniques, we can cross that clan off the list," said Konan. "But that still leaves three clans and we don't know a thing about them. We'll be walking into a trap unless we can get information."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" questioned Gaara.

Konan didn't say anything straight away. She reached for her upper bicep, pinched the skin, and peeled off a sheet of paper as casually as taking off socks – Naruto, Fu, and Yukie looked visibly disgusted. She reached over for her travel pouch, digging through the contents until she found a pencil. The Genin and the princess all watched in still silence as she jotted down a short message. Once she had finished writing down her note, the sheet of paper folded in on itself, creating a perfect butterfly shape.

"Fu, could you take this to the window?" said Konan, holding out the paper butterfly.

"Uh…sure," said Fu, blinking uncertainly.

She took the paper butterfly, which fluttered its wings briefly from the exchanged, stood up, and walked over to the frost-covered window. She pulled the glass aside, letting in the chill from the outside, and the butterfly immediately spurred to life. It flapped its wings hard and dived headlong into the blustery winter winds, struggling to maintain its original course before it vanished into the white haze.

"I sent a letter to the Fourth Mizukage," said Konan as Fu slammed the window shut. "Hopefully he can spare some insight into what we are dealing with. For now, we should make preparations for the next battle. If we are to assume correctly, Hanzo will be waiting one week until I am fully healed to come after us again."

Out of her peripherals, Konan noticed that Naruto suddenly tensed at the mention of the next battle. He was shaking, but it wasn't from fear or anxiety. He was quivering with excitement, his breath shuddering with glee.

' _Heh…to know that we'll be going up against that Hanzo again and to look pleased,_ ' thought Konan amusingly. ' _He must really want that rematch…._ '

"Sensei, what kind of preparations should we be making for next time?" asked Fu. "You won't even be able to move for a while…."

"Just because I'm not at full strength," said Konan proudly, "doesn't mean I can't assign you individual training."

"Individual training?" Fu repeated.

"You three are as different as oil, water, and gasoline," said Konan. "You each have your own unique talents, and If I am to get you to the next level, I need to give each of you special attention."

"But even if we go through individual training, will it be enough?" asked Gaara. "Our opponent is a man who defeated the legendary Sannin and even you, who is five times stronger than us put together, could barely hold their own against."

"Gaara," said Konan smugly. "Who was it that saved me during my difficult battle? You've all grown quickly…especially you, Naruto" – The orange-clad Genin looked up in surprise – "You've grown the most. You found your greatest strength in the middle of a desperate situation. I'm proud of you."

Naruto offered a small smile, feeling a sense of warmth washing over him from his teacher's praise.

"Yeah, I gotta admit, I would never have thought up that crazy plan myself," said Fu, playfully punching him in the shoulder; Naruto whined and rubbed the spot. "Way to go, Naruto."

"Heh, thanks," said Naruto sheepishly.

"I suppose we have nothing better to do, than to wait," said Yukie, sighing deeply as she stood up. "Meanwhile, I need to get in contact with the rebel leadership, tell them that our plan must be put on hold for a little while longer. We don't have any experienced shinobi on our side other than you four and I'd rather not risk their lives if we're going up against a dangerous foe like Hanzo."

"I will join you, Princess," said Sandayu, following Yukie out, but not before address Team Konan once more. "Please feel free to use this place however you want. The neighbors are all members of the rebellion, so you don't have to worry about being spied on. But if anyone starts asking questions, you just tell them that you are visiting relatives."

"Considering that all of us have different eyes and hair color, I think that's a little much to swallow," said Fu bluntly.

"We'll think of something to tell them," said Konan politely. "Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Sandayu."

He bowed to the team of shinobi respectfully and disappeared around the corner. They waited until they heard the sliding door opened and shut before Konan spoke up again.

"We don't have a whole lot of time, so we should get started right away," said Konan. "I've already made a training schedule that I was planning on giving you three once we returned to the village, but it looks like we'll be using it ahead of time. First, we should start with the person who has the most trouble learning."

"I think she's talking about you, Fu," said Naruto teasingly.

"Actually…," Konan said slowly, staring directly at Naruto.

"…Eh?"

* * *

 

There was a deep, thick forest behind the safe house they were staying at, which Konan deemed as a suitable training spot for the Genin. Using a pair of crutches provided by Sandayu thanks to his excellent foresight, Konan hobbled through the trees with Naruto treading slowly behind her. Walking was much more difficult for the Angel since they were in ankle-deep snow, but she managed to persevere. Finally, they came into a clearing in the middle of the woods that was small enough to be concealed by the trees, but large enough to where it could be a suitable training grounds.

Konan turned to Naruto, wobbling slightly on her crutches, and said:

"All right, let's get started with your personal training."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Naruto eagerly.

"Before we begin, let's do a little review on chakra for shinobi, from the basics," said Konan.

"But I already know that uh…chatora stuff already!" Naruto complained.

"It's called charka," said Konan blankly; Naruto laughed nervously. "Okay, listen up, Naruto: chakra is the energy that a shinobi uses to perform ninjutsu. It is made up of two energies: physical energy gathered together from each and every cell in the body and spiritual energy accumulated based on training and experience. In other words, chakra is the combination of these two energies from within the body and is activated by forming hand signs."

"Ugh, whatever!" Naruto groaned. "I may not understand difficult explanations, but I'll just learn it with my body!"

"That is the direction I want to take your training, yes," said Konan, nodding. "You're the type who only learns through experience rather than reading it in textbooks. But there is another explanation we have to get through before we can start your training properly. And that is Nature Transformation."

"Nature Transformation?" Naruto repeated, tilting his head in confusion.

"I figured you wouldn't understand that either," said Konan, sighing exasperatedly. "To put it simply, Nature Transformation is about molding and defining the nature of one's chakra, altering its properties and characteristics for use in jutsu. There are only five basic types of chakra elemental natures: fire, wind, water, lightning, and earth. The Five Great Shinobi Nations are named for these elements, and they form the foundation of all ninjutsu."

"Oh…cool…," said Naruto.

"Most people's chakra naturally leans toward a certain element," Konan continued. "For example, Gaara's sand is actually an advanced technique of earth-styled justu, so his natural affinity is geared towards earth-based techniques" – Naruto perked up in surprise - "For wind, it's the wind element. Lightning is the lightning element and so on. But you currently have zero elements under your belt and you don't even know which elemental nature you're most suited to. Which is why we are going to be using" – she reached for her upper arm and peeled off two sheets of paper – "these."

"What are those?" asked Naruto curiously.

"We'll find out your elemental nature using these slips of paper," said Konan, take one sheet in her other hand.

"How?" said Naruto.

Konan didn't say anything immediately, but held out the sheet of paper so that Naruto could see it clearly. The orange clad Genin focused all his attention on the paper…and yelped when the paper suddenly sliced down the middle, become two sheets.

"If you are wind-natured, the papers will cut in two," said Konan. "If it is lightning, the paper will wrinkle. Burn if you are fire. Get soggy if you are water. And crumble if you are earth. It's a unique paper that reacts to even the slightest amount of chakra, made from special trees fed and nurtured with chakra. If you run your chakra through this paper, we'll find out which nature you have."

Had he been a little more excited, Naruto might have ripped the paper in half when he took it.

"All right…you can do this…," Naruto muttered to himself.

He took a deep, cleansing breath as he shut his eyes and concentrated only on the paper in his hand. He had never actually channeled his chakra into a specific point before, but he imagined it was just the same as envisioning where it was meant to go and pushing it forward with his will power. The gentle winter breeze blew in his ear as he forced the chakra through his fingers –

_**RIP!** _

Naruto snapped his eyes wide open. What had once been one sheet of paper in his hand had now become two –

"It looks like your chakra's nature is wind, same as mine," said Konan. "That will make teaching you much easier. Wind jutsus are mostly offensive techniques that can be used as thin and sharp as a blade or propelled with high concussive force. The techniques are generally short- to mid-range, which seems suited to your fighting style."

"Aw yeah, I'm so awesome!" cheered Naruto.

"Not yet, you're not," said Konan, scolding him. "We only just found out your charka nature. Your manipulation training starts now."

"Wait, wait, sensei!" shouted Naruto, waving his hand in the air. "I just thought of something! You said that your chakra nature is wind, but you used the water dragon thing in your fight against Hanzo!"

"I had a feeling you were going to focus on that part," said Konan with an amused grin. "Yes, my original chakra nature is a wind type, but I can also use water style and earth style techniques."

"Wha? You can use three nature types?" gasped Naruto, awestruck.

"By the time someone reaches Jonin-class," said Konan, "most shinobi can perform two or three nature types. And beyond that are Advanced Nature types, which uses two or three element types simultaneously. While performing multiple kinds of nature transformations separately is easy, using two natures at the same time and combining them is incredibly rare and incredibly dangerous if you don't understand the process. Often those who attempt to perform these Advance Nature types end up cutting their shinobi careers short, and even costs them their lives. But those who can use two or more elemental natures at the same time can create a new nature which is called a Kekkei Genkai."

"Kekkei Genkai?" Naruto repeated.

"Some Kekkei Genkai are only available through genetic relations like the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan," Konan continued. "But most Kekkei Genkai can be used by those who have mastered chakra natures despite not having blood relations. For example, you remember what Princes Kazahana said about the Yuki Clan earlier."

"She said that the village's shinobi learned their jutsu from them," said Naruto.

"Exactly," said Konan. "The Yuki Clan was once one of the most prominent families in the Hidden Mist Village for their unique ability to perform a Kekkei Genkai called Ice Release, which combines water and wind natures together. The shinobi of the Hidden Snow Village are able to perform Ice Realease techniques as well, but there are some variations. Since the Yuki Clan's Kekkei Genkai was originally passed through genetics, they are able to create pure ice from water or even the very air itself. The Hidden Snow shinobi, however, can only use Ice Release techniques on already existing snow and ice, which makes them suitable for combat in a country like the Land of Snow."

"So does that mean even if people have the same type, they differ between places?" asked Naruto curiously.

"That's exactly right," said Konan, proud that he was able to pick up on that. "If we are to use an example, Lava Release is the most common Kekkei Genkai in the Shinobi Continent, existing in the Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and even in the Hidden Rain villages. However, they have different methods of performing them. In the Hidden Mist, they use a strong acidic mud, and the Hidden Stone can create quicklime or actual molten lava. I heard a rumor that certain shinobi in the Hidden Cloud can actually use Lava Release to make rubber."

"That's so cool…" murmured Naruto; this was the first time he actually liked learning.

"There are also Yin and Yang chakras, but we'll save that for another time," said Konan. "But for now, let's focus on just mastering your wind element."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Naruto eagerly. "What kind of jutsu are you gonna teach me? Blowing tornado out of my mouth? Make a whirlwind by clapping my hands?"

"You're going to learn to throw a kunai," said Konan simply.

"Eh?" Naruto whined. "But I already know how to do that?"

"Do you now?" said Konan, smirking. "All right then, show me. I want you to take out a kunai and try running your chakra through it."

Naruto was frowning in disappointment, but nonetheless he did as he was told, reaching into the pouch strapped to his thigh and withdrawing a single knife. Just like the paper, he closed his eyes and tried to force his chakra into the weapon using his willpower. When he opened them again, the kunai was surrounded by a faint, almost wobbly sort of blue energy.

"Good, at least you've figured out how to direct the flow of your chakra," said Konan, turning away for a moment. "Now, I want you to throw you kunai at that tree as hard as you can."

She was pointing at the closest one on the edge of the clearing, probably only a couple feet away. Naruto groaned internally at the pointlessness of it all, pulled back his arm, and threw the kunai with all his might. As he had expected, the kunai only ended up getting lodge in the trunk.

"So what was the point of that?" Naruto complained. "It's no different than throwing a regular kunai."

Konan didn't provide an immediate response, but she leaned over her crutch carefully and dug her hand into her carrying pouch before drawing out her own kunai. She held the blade up so that Naruto could have a clear view of the weapon and gave a grunt of effort as she pumped her chakra into the knife. Naruto couldn't help noticing the difference between his kunai and Konan's. Unlike his, Konan's chakra was thin, edgy, and constantly moving like a chainsaw.

While carefully adjusting herself so as not to fall over, the Angel raised the knife over her head and tossed it at the same tree. The kunai stabbed the bark two inches from Naruto's kunai, but instead of getting stuck like his, it ripped through not one, but two trees as if they were made of paper before getting lodged in the third.

Konan looked over at her student, proud of how dumbfounded he looked.

"W-Whoa," said Naruto breathlessly. "That was…amazing. It just cut through those trees like they were nothing."

"I held back because of my injury right now," said Konan. "But if I were at full health, it would have probably flown all the way back to the village" – Naruto made a yelping noise – "You probably noticed that the shapes of our chakras were completely different from each other; yours was weak and lacking in a definite form. That's because when you are using a wind nature, you have to imagine your chakra splitting into two halves that rub against each other."

"Rub against each other?" asked Naruto.

"After they sharpen each other in thin, fine pieces, you rejoin them," Konan explained.

"Thin and sharp…like a blade?" said Naruto thoughtfully.

"Now you're getting it," said Konan, smiling. "Mastering a nature transformation usually takes a huge amount of time, mostly after several years of intense training. But, I've thought of a way to get it done extremely fast."

"Sweet!" said Naruto. "How do we do it? Are you going to teach me some secret trick?"

"Actually, you have already master the technique needed for this training," said Konan, much to Naruto's confusion. "In order to speed up your training, we will be using…the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Wha?" sputtered Naruto.

"Just like I said. We'll be using shadow clones."

"Mmm…I don't get it at all," moaned Naruto, crossing his arms and frowning.

"Honestly, I didn't think I would have to teach you so much in one day," Konan sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "All right, I'll explain it very carefully, so pay attention, I don't want to have to repeat myself."

"Yes, ma'am!" shouted Naruto with a salute. "Please explain it as simple as possible, ma'am!"

"Right, right," said Konan lazily. "Listen up: You already know that unlike the normal clone technique, the shadow clone makes real, physical clones, correct?"

"Yeah, of course I know that!" said Naruto.

"In other words, the technique makes a complete copy of the user," Konan continued. "You are probably unaware of this given how you failed to understand the point I was trying to make towards your training, but the shadow clones have a special side-effect on the users. When you release the technique, any experience and knowledge gained by the clones will transfer back to the user's original body."

"Well…now that you mention it," said Naruto, humming thoughtfully and rubbing his chin. "I kinda remember one time when i was cleaning my apartment with my shadow clones and we all had lunch when they got canceled out because one of them accidentally spilled the hot water on himself. I remember tasting chicken ramen even though I was eating pork."

"Now exactly what I meant, but I guess that works," said Konan, giving him a blank stare. "Since your clone was eating a different type of ramen at the time, the experience was sent back to you when it vanished."

"Oh, now I get it," said Naruto in realization. "So that means I could totally use the shadows clones to taste all the different kinds of ramen they have at once!"

"How did this conversation get shifted to ramen?" asked Konan, more to herself than anyone else. "This technique was originally used for recon missions in dangerous areas, infiltrating enemy bases, and information gathering."

"So how exactly is this supposed to help me learn my chakra nature faster?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, yes, I'll explain that, too," said Konan exhaustedly. "Honestly, I feel bad for your academy teach for having to put up with you for three years" – Naruto chuckled mischievously – "It's simple enough to understand. "If you and one clone go through the exact same training, then you end up getting twice the benefit from it. That is to say, if you and a clone do the same training, you accomplish the same amount in half the time. If there are three of you, you can do it in a third of the time."

"Then…if there are a hundred of me…I could do it in one-hundredth of the time?" said Naruto.

"You're finally catching on," said Konan. "Something that would take you two days by yourself would only take one with a shadow clone alongside you. With a hundred clones, something that would normally take you ten years would take a week."

"Awesome!" cheered Naruto. "So that's what you had up your sleeve!"

"It about time he finally realized it," Konan muttered to himself, before speaking up. "You're to have as many clones as possible working with you at all times during your nature transformation training."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Naruto. "Heh, now I get why you're so strong, Konan-sensei. You've been training like this your whole life, haven't you?"

"Actually, I've never used a shadow clone in my life," said Konan. "My paper clones don't have the same benefits a shadow clone does. And on top of that, even if I could use the shadow clone technique, I don't have nearly the amount of stamina or chakra necessary to maintain clones for very long. Since it splits the chakra evenly between the clones, shinobi with low chakra capacities, like me, can't use it to its full potential."

"Really?" said Naruto, surprised. "So I have more chakra than you, Konan-sensei."

"It's not just you," said Konan. "Gaara and Fu also have inhumanely large chakra capacities. It's part of the reason why I was assigned to be your Jonin-sensei, to help teach you how to manage that power. If I were to give you an estimate, I would say you three have four times the amount of chakra as I do."

"That much?" said Naruto giddily. "Man, I really am awesome!"

"Yes, you are quite impressive," said Konan. "Sadly, Gaara and Fu have their talents in other fields, so they can't quite master the shadow clone technique like you can. That's why you're the only one who can handle this kind of training."

"This is so cool," said Naruto, shaking with excitement. "Something only I can do…. I can't wait to show Gaara and Fu-chan what I can really do."

"First, you next to actually master your element before you can go showing off to anyone," said Konan. "We'll start by strengthening your control over your chakra element."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Naruto.

"Thankfully, the Land of Snow is abundant with leafy trees that have evolved and adapted to the winter environment," said Konan. She trudged over to a tree with a low hanging branch, reached up, and ripped off one of its frost-covered white-green leaves. "What you're going to do is hold a leaf between your two hands and cut it all the way through using only your chakra."

"All right! Let's do it!" shouted Naruto excitedly.

"As I've already said, I want you to do this training using your shadow clones," said Konan.

"How many should I make?" asked Naruto.

"Hmm…," Konan hummed thoughtfully. "Well, if each of you gets a single leaf…then I guess about a hundred should do it. You want to pace yourself. You just learned how to use the technique properly after all."

"No problem," said Naruto confidently as he crossed his fingers to form the sign. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** "

The clearing was so thick with smoke that Konan had to wave the smog out of her face before she choked on it. When the haze cleared, the clearing was filled with a nightmarish amount of blonde boys in god-awful orange jumpsuits. Not even seconds after they were formed, the shadow clones immediately jump to the trees, picking off as many whitish-green leaves as they could get their hands on, leaving entire branches barren. Now given their own leaf, the shadow clones cupped their hands together and simultaneously tried to force pump chakra through their palms, grunting and yelling excessively. If it wasn't for the fact that the forest was so dense, Konan would have feared someone might spot them due to all the noise.

Konan stayed on the edge of the clearing for ten minutes, watching their progress, until she thought it might be time to head back; Gaara and Fu were waiting for their own training after all. But just as she started to turn away, she noticed that one of the clones suddenly perked up. Konan honed her vision on that one clone and, to her astonishment, there was a slight tear in near the point of the leaf.

' _He's already starting to starting to cut into them?_ ' thought Konan, eyes wide and mouth open in bewilderment. ' _But he only just started his training. Could it be…his affinity for this type of training is much greater than I had predicted? If that's the case…then this may go faster than anticipated. If this keeps going, I might actually consider teaching him some actual jutsu. We'll see how it pans out first._ '

* * *

 

Hanzo slow breathing was the only sound in the lower levels of Kazahana Castle. Guren had left him not too long ago to talk to Doto's scientists about making something to assist with his legs, though Hanzo knew conversations with Guren usually ended at the tip of a blade. For a while, it had been peacefully…until the door to his door opened, and three series of footsteps walked in, none of them, he knew, belonged to Guren.

He couldn't say he was surprised to see Doto himself down in the basements, flanking by a pair of Jonin Snow shinobi. The dictator seemed so smug when guarded by his soldiers; Hanzo wagered it would the complete opposite without them.

"Unbelievable," said Doto cockily. "Even you got beaten and had to come crawling back. The shinobi of the Hidden Rain Village must be a bunch of weaklings like everyone says they are. And tyo think you were once known as the feared Hanzo the Salamander, the Venomous Warrior, the lord of the Hidden Rain. Now I look at you and all I see is a washed up old man."

Hanzo did not offer up a response; he didn't see any point in wasting words with this man. Doto, on the other hand, sauntered up to his bed and leaned over him with that disgusting, overconfident smirk that Hanzo had grown to loathe.

"Hey…there's no need to stay silent," Doto said in a mocking tone, stretched his hand close to Hanzo's face. "Why don't you say something? Huh? Come on, speak up, I can't – AUGH!"

Doto's sudden cries made the Hidden Snow shinobi jump, but they didn't understand why he did it until they looked to his left side.

Guren had somehow appeared directly besides Doto without being spotted by anyone and had latched her fingers around his outstretched arm, tightening them into a vice-like grip. Doto wailed and flailed, but Guren would not release him. The younger kunoichi turned to the warlord with a piercing stare that left no doubt that she had murderous intent behind her action.

"Don't you dare touch Lord Hanzo with your filthy hands," she spat in a low, venomous voice.

Guren doubled the force of her grip until she could hear the bones cracking beneath Doto's skin. The pair of Snow shinobi that were meant to guard him reached for their weapons, but in the flash of an eye, Guren had released Doto and was now standing between them. Crystal-like blade seemed to sprout from her forearms and extend to the size of tanto blades, coming to a rest dangerously close to their throats. The Snow shinobi tried not to move, but even they could stop their frightened shaking.

"The only reason you aren't dead yet," Guren growled furiously, "is because I don't want to foul up Lord Hanzo's room with the stretch of your putrid blood."

A moment later, Guren was once again at Hanzo's bedside without anyone in the room catching a trace of her movements. Doto stumbled away from the outsiders, cradling his broken arm, while his guards dropped to their knees and held their throats with panicked breaths.

"N-Next time!" Doto managed to stutter. "If you lose again next time, remember that there will be no place for you here!"

Guren shot him a piercing glance over her shoulder and Doto immediately fled like the cowardly dog that he was, chased closely behind by his men.

"Guren…that was unnecessary," said Hanzo. "He is out employer, after all."

"Employer or not," said Guren, frowning, "I won't let him get away with treating you like trash, Lord Hanzo. If he doesn't again, I'm not sure I'll be able to restrain myself."

"You just need to hold out for a little while longer, Guren," said Hanzo.

With a weak groaned, he removed his arm from the covers, and raised his hand to Guren's face, gently caressing her cheek. Guren's expression softened and leaned into the hand with a soft sigh.

"One more mission, Guren," said Hanzo softly. "We just need to finish this one last mission and then we will have enough money to charter a ship across the Great Ocean. We will finally leave this cursed land of shinobi and start new lives in Fiore. I promise, I will give you the life you deserve, Guren."

"As long as I am with you, Lord Hanzo, I already have everything I need," Guren murmured softly.

"Just one more mission…," muttered Hanzo, "and we will finally be free…."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this will keep the whiners that are constantly complaining about Naruto not being some super god at bay. I was always planning on Naruto start his nature transformation training and learn the real purpose of his shadow clone technique ahead of schedule, but it won't get too crazy. At least for this half, the most Naruto will be able to do is channel his nature through weapons. I might give him some actual techniques in Shippuuden if I reach that far. I also wanted to give a little insight on Hanzo and Guren's true agenda, making them to be more sympathized with the readers.


	10. Storm the Castle! Hanzo Returns!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness. Reality has a tendency to hinder progress.

** Episode Ten: Storm the Castle! Hanzo returns! **

One would think that growing up in a country where it rained twenty-three hours a day, Konan would be just as used to snow. But she wasn’t. She hated it. She hated the bitter chill it brought, the way it hindered her walking (especially on crutches), and she hated that she had to wear extra layers, which themselves were uncomfortable and not at all sexually appealing. So why the hell was she standing outside in the freezing snow, she asked herself for the twelfth time that hour.

Standing in the freezing street while Yukie was inside talking to rebel members was less than ideal, but she couldn’t complain as long as it helped the mission move forward. She eyed the lanes wearily, locking stares with people who were walking by. Most of them were normal civilians, but at least two Snow shinobi dressed in casual clothes had gone past, subtly watching the house behind her out of the corner of their eyes. They were suspicious, which could only mean Doto was aware of the rebel activity. If that were true, Konan surmised, then the only reason they haven’t acted before now was because they had been waiting for Yukie to return. They needed to act on the side of caution.

“Sorry for the wait,” said Yukie apologetically as she exited the building. “Was there any trouble.”

“Two shinobi walked by, but they haven’t cause any trouble yet,” said Konan. “Though I sense that they may be aware of what was going on inside.”

“That sounds about right,” said Yukie. She started walking calmly down the street, Konan hobbling alongside her. “According to Sandayu, patrols around the village have increased since we arrived. My uncle is being cautious.”

“If he’s working with Hanzo, then he knows it’s almost time for us to strike,” said Konan. “It’s nearly been a week and I’ve almost regained my full strength. If my body agrees with me, I should be able to move freely by tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Well, that’s some good news at least,” said Yukie. “I could use some right about now.”

“Things didn’t turn out well at the meeting?” asked Konan.”

“Another group of supporters dropped out this morning,” said Yukie exasperatedly. “That’s the tenth group this week. We’ve lost more than half of our backing in only a few days’ time. They’ve all started running scared because my uncle has started putting pressure on people who are suspected of aiding the rebellion. The shinobi have been conducting spontaneous raids, arresting people without evidence, and there’s even a rumor going around that my uncle is issuing an order to kill any rebels on sight. It’s horrible.”

“You can understand why they might be afraid,” said Konan reasonably. “Doto has control of the village’s shinobi. Not a lot of common people are going to stand up to a massive military force.”

“We don’t have a choice!” spat Yukie. People on the street started looking their way and she quickly lowered her voice. “Doto has been abusing the Land of Snow for her personal profit for over a decade. The villagers are under constant surveillance and being forced into excessive labor. He’s completely cut us off from the rest of the world and he controls everything that goes in and out of the country. He sits that nice and warm in his castle, stuffing his face with expensive food and wine while the people own here are cold and starving – “

Yukie suddenly stops in her tracks, and Konan nearly bumps into her. She leans around the princess and see why. A little girl, probably not even seven years old, was lying face down in the snow on the side of the road, and while Konan and Yukie had stopped, no one else was even sparing the child a second glance. Yukie stepped closer and kneeled next to the girl, reaching out and taking her finger’s the girl’s neck.

Konan knew she was checking for a pulse, but as a trained kunoichi, she could always see the signs without it. The child’s skin was unhealthily pale, her lips were a permafrost blue, and her fingers and toes were a sickly shade of purplish-blue. This child had died of severe hypothermia.

And it seemed that Yukie had come to the same conclusion. With nothing to be done to help the poor girl, she thrust straight up to her feet and left at a fast walking pace; Konan struggled to follow her with her crutches. The former princess kept her head low, her bangs shadowing her eyes, but Konan could see her hands shaking at her side and knew it wasn’t from the cold. Once they were a good distance away from the body, Yukie suddenly stopped in the middle of the empty street, taking a deep breath through the nose before she spoke again.

“We have to stop him,” said Yukie in a strained voice. “My uncle…he can’t be allowed to continue his tyranny any longer. I was forced to leave my home ten years ago because of that monster and now…look what he’s done with it. This village used to be a beautiful place where snow glittered like diamonds and the streets were filled with warmth and laughter. I can still remember when my father and I would walk though town, him holding my hand, and the villagers would greet us with happy smiles…. That feels like a lifetime ago. Heh, maybe because it is. I have been living another life all this time, after all….”

Konan chose to remain silent and listen; she understood exactly how Yukie felt, having lost everything she held precious because of a war between other nations and they just happened to be in the crossfire.

“If we can just…defeat my uncle…,” muttered Yukie, gritting her teeth, “then maybe this village can return to how it once was…the way my father wanted it….”

Konan closed her eyes briefly, sighed heavily, and turned her gaze to the sky.

‘ _Naruto…Gaara…Fu…I hope you all are training your hardest out there. Because we carry the hope of a village on our shoulders…._ ’

* * *

 

And they were training their hardest – they were pushing themselves farther than they ever had in their lives.

Gaara dropped to one knees, pressing one hand on the ground to keep himself from falling over, breathing heavily with large puffs of white fog blowing in his face. With his natural talent, Gaara had never had to work hard to succeed, so this was completely new experience. His body ached everywhere…his lungs felt like they were on fire…his head was throbbing…his vision was fading in and out…. And he liked it. Despite all these new, painful sensations he was feeling, there was also a sense of satisfaction in knowing that he was making progress through his own efforts.

“Not done…,” said Gaara, grunting tiredly as he pushed himself up again, “I’m not done yet….”

At the same time, Fu dropped to her knees with her arms flailing uselessly on her lap, throwing her head back, and wheezing from exhaustion. Her arms and legs felt like they weight two tons each – she couldn’t even muster up the strength to move her pinkie finger. It took a considerable amount of effort just to lean forward and rolled her head back to facing straight ahead. Just across the small clearing that Konan had given her to train in, there were several trees with deep holes in them, but none had gone through completely.

“Ugh…I’m gonna die!” Fu whined. “If my training is this hard, then I can’t imagine what Naruto’s going through right now. Who knows? Maybe he’s dead?”

The forest, naturally, did not reply.

* * *

 

Naruto lay flat on his back half buried in the thick snow, unconscious for what must have been the twentieth time that week. One thing he learned about his training that Konan seemed to neglect informing him as that when releasing all his shadow clones at once, the backlash from the information sent to him would cause a sensory overload that would knock him out for a good two hours at most. It was only by some miracle that he hadn’t died from the cold at this point. But the pay off was well worth it – he had been training for a whole week with his clones and now all of them could cut the leaves with their chakra, as evident by the shredded foliage littering the ground around him.  Now all he had to do was put it into practice with a kunai…just as soon as he woke up….

Unfortunately, as his luck would have it, he wasn’t alone in the forest on this particular day.

Footsteps crunched the snow just outside the boundary of the clearing, getting closer and closer as a new, yet familiar, voice broke through the quiet.

“Goddamn scientists, making me come all the way out here to do their errands. After they’re finished, I’m going to break each and every one of their legs….”

The newcomer emerged from the trees, grumbling in a dissatisfied way. It was Guren, carrying a bulging backpack that seemed to be weighing her down.

The rogue kunoichi readjusted the strap on her pack when she noticed two things about the area she had just walked into. First, there were a bunch of cut up leaves strewn all over the snowy ground, and second, someone was lying unconscious in the middle of it all. Normally, Guren would have just walked away – it wasn’t her fault if someone was stupid enough to fall asleep and get frostbite – but her eyes were immediately drawn to his clothes, which were a blinding shade of godawful orange. There was only one person Guren knew that would have such terrible fashion sense, and as she stepped lightly through the snow to stand over him, she was able to confirm her suspicions. It was definitely him – the obnoxiously loud blonde with the shadow clones from Konan’s team.

The bitter memory of that battle came to the forefront of Guren’s mind. It was because of him that Konan was able to escape from Lord Hanzo’s brilliantly designed trap and hurt her beloved master. Her eyes stared hard at the unconscious blonde, showing through with murderous intention. It would be so easy…the boy was out like a light…all she had to do was snap his scrawny neck and no one would ever know….

Guren kneed next to his body in the snow and slowly stretched her hand out with purpose. Her hand hovered dangerously over his throat, her finger’s curled…and then she slapped him clean across the face with a loud **_smack!_** When the first smack didn’t seem to stir him, she backhanded him again and went back and forth in a repetitive motion.

“Oy, wake up!” said Guren blandly, mixing with the sounds of repeated smacks. “Oy! You’ve gonna die from cold if you sleep out here! Oy!”

Naruto finally started to come to his senses, mostly because his face felt like it was on fire, just as Guren gave him a good hard slap that rolled him around on his stomach.

“YAAAH! WHAT THE HELL?” Naruto cried, bouncing up to his knees and holding his inflamed cheeks. “What’s the big idea, slapping a guy while he’s sleeping, you son of a – “

But he stopped himself in mid-sentence when he looked over his assailant and realization washed over him like a bucket of ice water.

“Hey,” said Guren, waving her hand casually.

“WAH! IT’S YOU!” Naruto yelled, jumping to his free and drawing a kunai from his pouch. “HANZO’S SIDEKICK!”

“Who’re you calling a sidekick, dumbass!” Guren yelled angrily. “I’m clearly his partner!”

“Whatever, I bet you thought you could kill me while I was down,” said Naruto defensively. “That’s what you’d expect from a bad guy. You have no honor.”

“Okay, number one,” said Guren, holding up one finger, “shinobi are trained to be liars, cheaters, and schemers, so the idea of a shinobi with honor is laughable. And secondly” – she held up a second finger – “I was not trying to kill you. I just happened to be walking by and I saw you lying in the snow, so I woke you up. Your welcome, by the way.”

“Uh-huh, and how do I know you’re telling the truth?” asked Naruto suspiciously.

“You’re alive, aren’t you?” Guren retorted; Naruto hesitantly nodded in acknowledgement. “Besides, Lord Hanzo would get angry at me if I killed one of you before the next big fight. So until then, we’re calling a truce.”

“Okay…,” said Naruto slowly, cautiously putting his kunai away, never taking his eyes off her. “Then if you’re not here to kill me, then why are you out here?”

“I’m just coming back from collecting supplies for – wait! Why should I have to tell you anything?” Guren suddenly snapped, making Naruto jump. “What about you? What are you doing in a place like this so early in the morning.”

“Hpmh! That’s none of your business!” said Naruto, crossing his arms and turning pointedly away from her.

“All right, then I’ll take a guess,” said Guren, her eyes roaming around the clearing. “Hmm…torn up leaves…kunai scratches on the trees – one tree has a hole cutting clean through…and the rock behind it looks like it was hit with a hammer, but the cut in the center indicates it was done by something sharp…. You’re learning Nature Transformations and your chakra type is wind, isn’t it?”

“How’d you know!” yelled Naruto.

“Wow, you admit to that pretty quick,” said Guren jokingly. “Are you sure you’re a shinobi?”

“Shut up!” growled Naruto.

“So…you’re training so that you can fight Lord Hanzo, is that it?” said Guren. “But why are you so insistent on getting in our way?”

“Because Hanzo’s the bad guy, that’s why!” Naruto shouted like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“It’s easy to call someone a bad guy when you standing on the opposite side,” said Guren, narrowing her eyes dangerously. “Yeah, I’ll be the first to admit that Doto is a bastard and I don’t really care much for him, but this is just a job for us. It’s nothing personal. It’s no different than what your sensei does. Or did Konan neglect to tell you about all the…less-than-noble missions she’s undertaken. Assassination? Kidnapping? Espionage? Torture? Has she even told you one story about her past?”

As Naruto wanted to bite back, he was forced to grit his teeth when he realized that Guren was right. Even though they had been working under her for a while now, Konan never really did talk about the things she had done in her past. The most any of them knew was that Konan was an orphan who lost her parents during the Second Shinobi World War, had two friends named Nagato and Yahiko, and that Yahiko was killed by Hanzo. Everything after that was a complete blank. As much as he wanted to believe that Konan was a nice woman that would never do anything wrong, he was at least smart enough to know that shinobi did a lot of less than honorable things in the name of peace.

“Let me ask you something,” Guren said abruptly. “Why did you become a shinobi?”

“That’s an easy one,” said Naruto, regaining some confidence. “To become the strongest shinobi in my village! I’m going to get everyone to recognized my strength! And I have to prove something to a certain person!”

“Is that right?” said Guren, turned away slowly and staring up into the snowy sky. “So did you become a shinobi for the sake of somebody? Or is it for your own sake?”

“Huh?” groaned Naruto in confusion; Guren resisted the urge to slap herself. “Hey, hey, what’s with that look?”

“You really are an idiot,” said Guren with an exasperated sigh. “All right, then, let me ask another way. Do you have someone precious in your life?”

“Precious?” Naruto blinked slowly. “Why are you asking something like that? Wait, is that why you’re working with Hanzo? Because he’s precious to you.” Guren made no verbal response, but Naruto could see that her face suddenly turned a light shade of red. “Eh? What’s up with that? Why would that crazy old man be precious to you?”

Once again, Guren made no effort to form a response. Instead, her mind wandered backwards in time, to a distant memory that she kept close to her heart.

* * *

 

Guren was very small, a child that had yet to reach double digits, forced to her knees on the muddy ground of the mist filled forest that loomed perpetually in the Land of Water. She tried to stand up, but she was forced back down by a pair of strong hands, their fingernails digging into her exposed skin after they had stripped her. Her arms were bound in her lap; the thick coil of rope was digging into her skin, cutting off the circulation to her fingers until her hands had changed a slight shade of purple. Her breathing was erratic, her heart was pounding like a drum. All around her, she could only see the shadows of many people, all of them leering at her like she was a diseased animal.

One of the shadowy men stepped up; he was holding up a sharp axe clear enough for her to see. He raised the axe overhead – Guren closed her eyes in anticipation of the blow –

But it never came –

Tentatively, Guren opened her eyes just in time to see her would-be killer fall forward on the ground, a large cut sliced across his throat and small river of blood spilling out. And one by one, the bodies started falling around her, each carrying a vital wound, until there was only one man left standing. A tall man in advanced age with blonde hair that was losing its luster and a strange respirator that covered most of his face. The strange looked down at Guren, and Guren returned his gaze with eyes brimming in wonderment.

That was the day she first met Hanzo….

* * *

 

Guren’s mind reeled back to the present say when she realized she was staring up at the snowy clouds of the Land of Snow instead of the mist-covered trees of the Land of Water. She took a deep, cleansing breath and slowly turned around to face Naruto, who was still acing defensive. Well, at least he’s not completely stupid….

“My reasons for caring about Lord Hanzo are my own,” said Guren. “But the fact that I care about him is what makes me strong.” Naruto tilted his head again; man, this kid can be so clueless. “Lord Hanzo says that when a person has something precious they want to protect, that’s when they can become truly strong. It’s why Lord Hanzo, during his brief period of madness, was weak against Nagato, who had many people he wished to protect from Lord Hanzo. Do you have someone like that?”

Naruto frowned, lowering his head in thought…. Of course, the first person he would think about would be Iruka-sensei. He was the first person that accepted Naruto as person instead of the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of him…. And then there was Konan-sensei – she could be a little hard and a little strict, but she was kind and patient with him whenever he screwed up…. And Gaara and Fu...well, he was friendly with Fu, at least, though Gaara was a little standoffish and bit of a pain in the ass to work with, but he knows they would both have his back if he was ever in trouble…. Now that he thought about it, Naruto had more precious people now than he ever had in his life; that fact brought a smile to his lips.

“Yeah, I have lots of precious people,” said Naruto proudly.

“Then I guess you and I aren’t so different after all,” said Guren, almost sounding happy of the fact. She readjusted her pack and turned her back on him. “You’ll definitely get strong if you have something worth fighting for. Though, the next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield, and I promise I won’t hold back.” She started to walk away, but only made it a few paces before she stopped. “Oh, by the way…I’m a boy.”

“WHAT? NO WAY?” Naruto screamed in shock.

“How can you be a shinobi if you fall for such an obvious lie?” said Guren with a blank look.

“HOW MEAN!” yelled Naruto.

With a sharp, mocking laugh, Guren walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the dense forest.

* * *

 

Dinner with her team had always been an eventful affair in Konan’s mind. Naruto was always so loud and eating everything he could get his hands, with Fu being a sort of rival in both regards, always seemingly trying to outdo each other and get into the most elaborate battle over who gets the biggest piece of meat. And during the whole thing, Gaara would be shooting them death glares until food was flung in his direction and he would retaliate with his Sand Shield. Yes, in Konan’s mind, dinner was always the liveliest moment of their day…so you could imagine how strange it was to see her students so quiet and listless….

Naruto and Fu had dropped into their chairs the first moment when they returned to the safe house and immediately smacked their faces on the table in perfect synch, startling Yukie and Sandayu. Gaara at least managed to drop his gourd near the door and dragged his feet to the nearest heater before sitting down in front of it…and then falling sideways in a fetal position. Konan, Yukie, and Sandayu sweat dropped.

“I think I might have killed my students,” Konan muttered. “Kakashi’s not gonna like that…and I’ll have a whole mess of paperwork to deal with.”

“So…tired…,” Naruto moaned, his voice muffled by the table.

“Can’t…feel…my arms…,” whined Fu.

“I’ve never felt so tired in my life,” grumbled Gaara. “Honestly, I’ve never been tired period…. I blame you, sensei….”

“Now, now, no need to get all angsty,” said Konan, waving her hand lightly. “You’ve all done exceptionally well. I never expected any of you to be able to advance so far into your training in such a limited amount of time, especially you, Naruto.” At the mention of his name, Naruto turned his head on the table and grinned. “Tomorrow, my body will have made a full recovery. And by the same regards, Hanzo will have likely recovered from his injuries as well. Our clash is inevitable, so there’s no point in putting it off any longer. We’ll attack the castle tomorrow.

“I’ll be going with you,” said Yukie.

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea,” Gaara groaned, tilting his head back to face her. “You’re Hanzo’s target. You’ll be exposed if you come with us, and there’s no guarantee that we can protect you. It may be a better idea if you stayed behind – “

“I can’t! I have to be the one to bring Doto down!” said Yukie fiercely. “The people are looking to me to lead the Land of Snow into a better age! It won’t mean anything if I’m not the one fighting for it!”

“Okay, okay, calm down,” said Konan soothingly, resting a hand on her arm. “You’re right, if the Land of Snow is going to change for the better, then you need to be the one to do it. We’ll do our best to protect you until we can get to your uncle.”

“Thank you,” said Yukie appreciatively. “I’ve been wanting to ask you for a long time now, but why are you still helping me even after I lied about the mission?”

“Hmm…,” Konan hummed, folding her hands under her chin and looking thoughtful. “To see what is right without doing it bespeaks and absence of courage. Like master, like man.”

“Uh…come again,” said Yukie, blinking confused.

“It’s a teaching that my friends and I followed in the Hidden Rain,” said Konan with a soft smile. “Yahiko lived by that teaching every day. He knew that if something was wrong, it was our mission to correct it, even without asking for anything in return. Because to turn away from a good cause, no matter how difficult, is the motive of a coward…. Actually, the man who came up with that teaching was Hanzo.”

“What? Hanzo said that?” said Fu, raising her head with a confused look.

“Hanzo wasn’t always the vile man he is now,” said Konan reminiscently. “As you already know, my family was killed by Hidden Stone shinobi in the Second Shinobi World War, simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I met Yahiko and Nagato the same way and we studied under the same master for three years before he left. Afterwards, we were left alone without any real purpose…until we saw Hanzo with our own eyes.

“We had heard the stories about him – the man who stemmed the battles in the Hidden Rain, killing hundreds of foreign shinobi who sought to use our country for their personal war. The first time we saw Hanzo, he was made leader of the Hidden Rain and spoke passionately about achieving peace by unifying all the nations as one, so that there would be no more wars and no more deaths. Yahiko took his speech to heart and together, we stole a few Hidden Rain headbands and branded ourselves as followers of Hanzo’s teachings. We created our group, Akatsuki, as a way of achieving peace without the need for violence. And for a while, it seemed to work.

“And then he betrayed us. We were his most dedicated followers, carrying out his teachings, and in the end, it turned out all that he cared about was the preservation of the power he had amassed. He kidnapped me, ambushed us, and forced Yahiko to take his own life to save mine. I spent so many years hating Hanzo for his betrayal…. And when the day came when we could finally end his reign once and for all…Nagato let him go. He let him go, and now that mistake is coming back to haunt us.”

“If this guy is so dangerous,” said Fu, “then why didn’t your friend finish him?”

“I don’t know; I wasn’t there when it happened,” said Konan, frowning. “When Nagato came back from his battle against Hanzo, he told me that he had let him walk away. He said that Hanzo had fled the Hidden Rain and was unlikely to return…. I was so furious with him. Hanzo had taken my – our friend away from us, and he allowed that monster to live. His only response was…that he didn’t want to be the kind of man that Hanzo was. That killing him would go against everything that Yahiko fought for…. Deep down, I knew he was right…but that doesn’t stop me from feeling so angry….”

Naruto was unnaturally quiet for a moment, losing himself in thought. He remembered speaking to Guren that morning, about having someone precious worth protecting. The way Guren and Konan talked, it was like they were describing two separate men. Konan held nothing but contempt for the man who betrayed her, and her anger was justified – it was obvious to anyone who looked how deeply she felt for this Yahiko person. But also, the way Guren spoke about him so fondly, almost lovingly so, it seemed like a complete contradiction from what he was told.

Though he knew he shouldn’t have, Naruto couldn’t help but wonder…. Was Hanzo really such a bad person?

* * *

 

As the raging blizzard winds blew against the walls of Kazehana Castle, and even greater storm was brew inside the lower chambers. While Hanzo sat at the edge of his provided bed, waiting patiently, Guren was bustling about attempting to secure the new prosthetics for his destroyed legs. They weren’t much worth looking at – they appeared to be nothing more than steel boots made of black metal – but on the inside, they were riddled with special chakra needles that hit the various pressure points in his legs, numbing any pain and allowing him the ability to stand. Guren fastened the final lock on his remaining boot and stood up, offering her hands.

“All right, let’s take them for a test run,” said Guren. Hanzo took her hands and cautiously pulled himself up. “Easy there, now. Take it slow – “

“I’m fine, Guren,” said Hanzo determinedly.

Now up to his feet, Hanzo took a few wobbly steps forward with Guren guiding him like a parent teaching their child to walk. It only took a few seconds before Hanzo began to adjust and stated taking more confident strides across the room, and in only a minute, he was walking properly without needing Guren to hold him. He was certainly a fast learner….

“It’s not perfect, but it should get the job done,” said Hanzo, taking a seat on his bed again. “I’ll have to train with them for a bit tonight to make sure I’ve fully acclimated to them. A few wall climbing exercises should help.”

“I still think you need more time to recover,” said Guren, frowning.

“We don’t have that kind of time, Guren,” said Hanzo. “It’s been nearly a week now, which means that if Konan survived the poison – of which, I have no doubt – then they will most likely attack the castle tomorrow. We need to be ready.” Guren grimaced, which Hanzo easily noticed. “Guren…we just need to hold out a little longer…. One more fight, and we’ll be in Fiore sooner than you know it. I promise.”

“…Yes, Lord Hanzo,” Guren mumbled.

* * *

 

Night had come and gone in the blink of an eye, and now it was finally the morning that they had all been waiting for. Konan, Gaara, Fu, and Yukie had all gotten up at the crack of dawn to prepare for their assault on Kazehana castle…. The only person that was missing was Naruto.

Sadly, it surprised no one that the blonde Leaf Genin was still fast asleep on such an important day. Despite all their attempts to rouse him, Naruto remained fast asleep to the point where he might as well be labeled dead. Knowing they didn’t have much time to waste on waking their last member, the trio of shinobi and the princess had already dressed and made their way out as they were saying their good byes to Sandayu.

“Okay, then,” said Konan, rolling her shoulder to rid it of stiffness. “We’ll leave Naruto in your hands.”

“Are you sure you want to just leave him behind?” asked Sandayu in concern.

“We don’t have time to wait for him to wake up,” said Konan. “For all we know, Hanzo could be coming to us instead of the other way around. And given the amo0unt of intense training he just went through this past week, I’d say he’s pushed his body and mind beyond its limits. He probably won’t be able to move for the rest of the day. I probably should have made some restrictions to his training.”

“We should get going,” said Yukie. “Sandayu, have the villagers prepared for when we return. The Snow shinobi who have profited off Doto’s tyranny likely won’t be pleased when they find out that he has been replace.”

“I will see to it at once, princess,” said Sandayu.

“Let’s go,” said Konan.

The party of four turned and disappeared down the street while Sandayu walked back inside the house…. None of them ever realizing that they were being watched by two Snow shinobi from across the street, leering intently at the safe house that was now left unprotected.

* * *

 

The perilous trek up the mountains to Kazehana Castle was a lot less perilous than Konan had predicted. As they leisurely walked the shoveled pathway from the village directly up the side of the mountain, they were met with a surprising lack of security. Not a single Snow shinobi had shown up to hinder them, even though they so plainly out in the open; the villagers even saw them walking up the path, which they all knew was strictly forbidden unless Doto summoned them. They had already been on the path for twenty minutes – they should have been swarmed by now…. Konan could only surmise that the reason no one was coming after them was because Hanzo wanted them to come; this was an invitation….

Another few minutes of walking and they had finally reached the peak where the Kazehana Castle lay before them. It seemed like a nice place – traditionally structure that gave an air of authority while at the same time seemingly inviting. It was too bad that the man sitting on the throne was all authority and hardly inviting. Out of the corner of her eye, Konan saw Yukie’s hands clench up into fists and were shaking slightly. She almost forgot that this was where Yukie had spent her childhood before Doto robbed her of it. Must be hard returning to her home like she, she supposed….

“This is it,” said Yukie in a low voice. “Doto is likely waiting inside in the throne room. That smarmy bastard is probably staring down his nose at us, looking for a good show.”

“And it looks like he’s about to get one,” said Konan. “Here they come.”

The moment the words left her lips, the wind that had been peaceful and calm all morning had suddenly kicked up into a raging flurry of snow. The girls raised their arms to shield their faces from the sudden blizzard while Gaara’s Sand Shield formed a protective wall around him. (“That is so not fair,” Fu complained.) Konan pushed Yukie behind her, keeping her wedged between Fu and Gaara for protection, as she narrowed her eyes ahead, leering into the storm. It was there, just beyond the scope of her vision, that she saw two shadows moving through the storm, but Konan couldn’t tell which direction they were going.

“Gaara! Fu! Stay on your guard!” Konan shouted over the raging winds. “They’re here! Cover all sides!”

“Where the hell is all this wind coming from?” Fu screamed. “I thought the weather report said it was supposed to be clear skies today!”

“They must be using a wind jutsu to throw the snow around to obscure our vision!” yelled Gaara.

“Should have expected as much,” said Konan. “Hanzo’s still injured after the last fight. He’s not going to risk a direct confrontation.”

“I am sorry for having to resort to such deception, Konan,” came Hanzo’s voice, seemingly echoing from every direction. “But you’ve made it clear that I can’t fight you on an even playing field. As you said, my body is old and growing weaker with each passing day. I have no chance if I don’t act this way.”

“It doesn’t matter how you face me, Hanzo!” said Konan in a cold voice to match the snow. “I’m still going to kill you!”

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Hanzo. “I see you’ve brought your students along as well. A very bold move, considering how close they were to death last time….”

The team only blinked briefly, and in the span of a half second, they were suddenly surrounded by five copies of Hanzo, each of them wielding a poison-laced kusarigama. They gave Team Konan no chance to defend themselves before they leapt forward with their weapons swinging…but Konan smirked at their efforts and said, with a hint of amusement:

“Do it, Fu.”

All of a sudden, Konan dropped down to her hands and knees while she pulled Yukie to the ground, and even Gaara lowered himself into a crouch. Once they had dropped, Fu pivoted around on one leg and swung the other around in a wide circle. In the brief second that they were still inbound, the Hanzo clones witnessed a tremendous amount of pressure swirling around the kunoichi’s leg before being flung in their direction. The pressure hit them with the force of a speeding train, crushing their chests with large indentations before they exploded out of existence just as Fu brought her foot down, grinning mischievously.

Yukie popped her head out of the snow with a loud gasp and looked around, stunned.

“What just happened?” she asked.

“The results of Fu’s training,” said Konan proudly. “Fu has always been amazingly talented when it comes to Taijutsu. That’s because she has exceptional charka control, possibly even greater than my own. She can compress the chakra in her arms and legs and release them at just the right moment, giving her an extra boost in strength and speed. It’s not that much different from Lady Tsunade. But after a week of training, Fu can now use that same principle to build up air pressure in her swings, turning her Taijutsu moves into long ranged attack.”

“Well, well, looks like your student managed to make short work of my shadow clones,” said Hanzo as he and Guren emerged from the snowstorm. “You make a good teacher, Konan, if they are able to grow so much such a short amount of time. This means a rival has emerged, Guren.”

“So it seems,” said Guren seriously.

“Sorry,” said Gaara, stepping out in front of the group, “but I’ve already reserved the right to face her.”

“Oh, you think you’re a match for me, do you?” said Guren, staring him down.

“More than,” said Gaara confidently. “You’re about to understand why I am the most feared man in the Hidden Sand.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I want to apologize for the lateness. With school getting in the way, it takes a lot longer to write these chapters, plus I did a whole lot of revision for this one since I was going back and forth on whether to spend a whole chapter on flashbacks or not. But in the end, I felt there was no real point since everything has already been explain in the story and in the source material, so I wanted to avoid any unnecessary repetition. Though I did keep in that one glimpse of Guren’s past as a bit of a teaser to explain why Guren is so loyal to Hanzo despite his reputation and a hint about the fight between Hanzo and Nagato that will be explained later.
> 
> Thank you for waiting patiently, and, as always, please read and review.


	11. Guren’s Secret Technique: Crystal Forestation

It was the moment they had been training a week for, but it still caught them by surprise. As the snowstorm continued to rage around them, Konan held her arm defensively around Yukie, leering at Hanzo and Guren emerging from the blizzard. Fu immediately stepped in by her side, her arms raised and her hands clenched into fists, just waiting for an excuse to jump straight into the fight. Gaara was apart from them by a few feet, his arms crossed in a threatening stance, through the bulky winter coat did ruin some of that intimidation. He eyes were locked unblinkingly with Guren’s – a mounting tension was growing strong between them.

“Well, well…looks like you’ve made a miraculous recover in such a short time, Hanzo,” said Konan. “I was honestly expecting you to still be in bed after your feet were practically melted off.”

“The marvels of modern science,” said Hanzo, leaning down and tapping his prosthetics to emphasize them. “The Land of Snow truly is an advanced culture. They were able to build machines that restored my ability to stand, even if I’m not fully recovered.”

“So you’re weaker than you were before,” said Konan suspiciously. “You were already crippled by old age, and yet you stand here despite having further faults. It’s unlike you to be so arrogant, Hanzo.”

“No, not arrogance,” said Hanzo. “I’m fully away of my setbacks, but I’m not the one you should be worrying about. Guren is your true opponent.”

“Ah, the girl from the now deceased Akira Clan,” said Konan. Guren stiffened, biting her lip. “Yeah, I know about that. After our last battle, I got in contact with the Fourth Mizukage about the old clans with potential Kekkei Genkai. Based on my description of you, he warned me about your clan’s special jutsu.”

“You bitch – “ Guren hissed.

“Calm yourself, Guren,” said Hanzo sharply. “She’s just trying to rattle you.”

“We’ve come prepared this time, Hanzo,” said Konan, narrowing her eyes dangerously. “You won’t catch us by surprise like last time.”

“Enough talking,” said Gaara impatiently. “Girl – whatever your name is – I will fight you.”

“Heh, you’re going to take me on?” said Guren, scoffing at him amusingly. “I heard all about your reputation – you’re not the only ones that have been gathering information on the other for the past week. Gaara, also known as Gaara of the Desert, the most feared and hated boy in the entire Hidden Sand. You’re the boy that can manipulate sand as a shield and a spear, but you clearly over estimate yourself. You haven’t even realized your own disadvantage.”

“And what disadvantage would that be?” asked Gaara calmly.

“Here, on this mountain of snow, the amount of sand you can use is limited to what you have on you,” said Guren. “And after observing you battle against Lord Hanzo, I noted several weaknesses in your defense: water makes your shield becomes adhesive and it’s vulnerable to concentrated points of extreme force.”

“If you’re so confident,” said Gaara, “then come.”

“Lord Hanzo…?” said Guren, looking for permission from her master.

“Go, but be careful, Guren,” Hanzo warned.

“Yes, my lord,” said Guren.

Crouching low to the ground, Guren held her arms behind her as a row of three curved pink crystals grew out of each of her forearms. She locked her gaze with Gaara, who remained as impassive as always, and kicked off the ground, dashing forward at blinding speed. She closed the distance between them faster than anyone could blink and swung her forearm around –

* * *

 

 - the door was smashed into a hundred splinters on the floor as two Snow Shinobi stood in the entryway. Drawn by the noise, Sandayu came rushing into the hallway, already equipping himself with a sword as he glared at the intruders. The Snow shinobi chuckled at this.

“Are you the one called Sandayu?” asked one of the Snow Shinobi. “Lord Doto has charged you with high treason against the Land of Snow. Lord Doto has already passed judgment on your and has sentenced you to death immediately. Sorry, old man, but you really shouldn’t have tried to go up against the Daimyo.”

“You cowardly fiends!” Sandayu sneered. “Serving a despicable dictator like Doto. Have you truly lost all sense of honor?”

“Honor?” the second intruder laughed out loud. “We’re shinobi. We don’t give a shut about honor. Only thing that matters is making life easier for ourselves.”

“You wretches…,” growled Sandayu. He removed the sword from its scabbard and held it toward the invader. “You won’t take me so easily. I will die before I surrender to Doto’s wickedness!”

“That’s kind of the point,” said the first shinobi.

With a strangled battle cry, Sandayu charged at the intruders, swinging his sword from overhead. But the Snow shinobi casually sidestepped the swing, then the first intruder jabbed his knee up to ram against Sandayu’s stomach. The elderly man coughed harshly, looking like he was going to be sick, and dropped his sword on the ground. The man’s partner then punched Sandayu across the face, throwing him sideways and knocking over the partition leading to the main area of the house. Sandayu landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, his lip bleeding, as the Snow shinobi stood over him, laughing until they noticed someone else in the room with them.

Naruto was still out cold in the middle of the room, half of his body lying haphazardly out of his sleeping bag, snoring excessively loud and drool spilling down his chin.

“This must be one of the foreign shinobi that’s been causing Lord Doto headaches,” said the first Snow shinobi. “Hah! Look at him. A stupid little brat who doesn’t even know what’s going on. Can’t imagine why Lord Doto is so worried about the likes of him.”

“Think we should take him as a hostage?” asked the second man.

“Nah, not worth the trouble,” said the first man. He disappeared into the entryway for a moment and came back holding Sandayu’s katana. “It’d be better if we just kill the little brat right now. Who knows, Lord Doto might even reward us for offing one of them.”

“Good idea,” the second shinobi chuckled.

“No, you can’t, you – “ Sandayu tried to get up, but the Snow shinobi pressed their foot on his back to keep him pinned to the floor.

“Don’t be so impatient, old man,” said the second shinobi with a wicked chuckle. “It’ll be your turn soon enough.”

The first shinobi walked around the space until he was standing directly over Naruto, the sleeping blonde completely unaware of the current situation as the man pointed the tip of the katana at his chest. And then, with a loud grunt, he stabbed Naruto through the chest –

* * *

 

Gaara lurched sideways, gritting his teeth in frustration as he faced Guren, wiping the thin trail of blood that came from the small cut on his cheek. Guren stood across from him with her arms raised in a defensive position, shaking them briefly to knock off the sand that clung to the crystals on her forearms. Fu gasped from her spot on the sidelines and tried to run after Gaara, but Konan grabbed her by the shoulder. The Jonin understood Fu’s concern – it took a lot to be able to cut through Gaara’s sand shield, but even more to be able to actually hurt him. Hanzo, meanwhile, looked satisfied –

‘ _The boy does hold an impressive set of skills,_ ’ he thought, ‘ _but his so-called ultimate defense is riddled with flaws. On top of a weakness to water jutsu, his sand shield can only ward of so much physical force before the compacted sand tears apart. With Guren’s already impressive physical strength combined with her speed and the cutting force behind her crystal jutsu, she can slice through that sand shield like a knife through wet paper…. And yet, the boy doesn’t seem a worried about it as he did when we fought last time…. They’re up to something…._ ’

‘ _Looks like Hanzo’s starting to piece it together,_ ’ thought Konan. She faced Fu and said aloud, “Fu, you and I will form a defensive perimeter around the princess. Let Gaara handle the Akira girl – you and I have to stay focused on Hanzo. We’re both immune to his poison, so we both stand the best chance against him. Make sure not to stray too far from either of us.”

“Hai, sensei!” said Fu, and she jumped back to stand on Yukie’s left side while Konan stepped over to guard her right.

“Yes, let him ‘handle me’,” said Guren in a mocking tone, shooting s smug look at Gaara. “First I’ll finish him off, then I deal with you two next. Lord Hanzo won’t have to lift a finger.”

“If you have time to talk,” said Gaara monotonously, “then you have time to fight.”

Grimacing, Guren rushed forward after Gaara with her arms crossed in front of her, the edges of her crystal blades held outward. Gaara’s sand shield activated immediately upon her approach and formed a circular barrier between them, but Guren swiped her arms diagonally and cut a clean division in the sand, opening a direct path to Gaara. Guren touched the ground briefly on her tip of her right foot to temporarily ground herself and spun around in a full circle to gain momentum, stretching her arms outward. The crystal daggers were coming from above, and Gaara quickly turned himself around so that his gourd would receive the hit instead. Guran’s crystal blades sliced cleanly through the gourd like it was a piece of fruit, cutting open a huge gash in the bottom and dumping out all the sand that was stored inside onto the snow-covered ground

Gaara made a gesture with two fingers and pointed upwards; the sand on the ground suddenly shot up in the form of a large spike, mixing in with the snow to make it extra compacted. Guren saw the attack coming out of the corner of her eye, pivoted sharply on her foot, and turned around extra fast to slash the spike down the middle, sending sand and snow flying in every direction; Gaara raised his arms to shield himself from the spray. Guren followed through with the momentum of her spin and lifted her left foot for a wide swing at Gaara’s head. Naturally, the sand shield came to his aid and formed a compacted wall in his defense, but at the last second, Guren coated her entire left leg in crystal and smashed through the barrier with brute force, landing a solid hit on Gaara’s shoulder.

The Sand Genin hit the ground and was sent sliding across the area, stopping near the edge of the mountain. Gaara managed to push himself weakly back to his feet, but he was wincing and holding his shoulder. The sand shield absorbed most of the impact, but that strike was definitely going to leave a bruise at least. Unfortunately, he didn’t even have a chance to breath before Guren kicked off the ground again and shot at him. Knowing his sand shield wasn’t going to help him this time, Gaara unstrapped his now empty gourd and held it up in front. The Guren’s forearm crystals stabbed into the gourd, managing to push Gaara back slightly, but the container managed to hold and actually stopped Guren in her tracks.

Guren grinned smugly and said, “Getting a little desperate, aren’t we? Now resorting to fighting with accessories…. You should back down now while you still have your life.”

“Funny,” said Gaara coldly, “I was about to say the same to you.”

“Such bravado…,” said Guren amusingly. “But the difference in our strengths is too great; you should have figured that out by now. On top of that, I’ve already made two preemptive moves.”

“Two preemptive moves?” Gaara repeated.

“The first one is the snow,” said Guren, gesturing her head around them. “You’ve noticed by now, haven’t you? Your sand is getting harder to control? That’s because I’ve been scattering it and mixing it in with the snow. Coming in contact with the sand absorbs the moisture from the snow – this entire mountainside is essentially frozen water, which means the more snow your sand absorbs, the weaker it becomes.”

Gaara narrowed his eyes and stared at her silently; he didn’t want to admit it, but his sand was getting sluggish over time; another reason to hate the Land of Snow.

“And the second one was getting in close to stop your movements,” Guren continued. “Therefore, you won’t be able to dodge my next attack – “ Even with her forearms still caught in the gourd, Guren managed to bring her hands together and form a series of hand signs. “ **Crystal Release: Crystal Needles!** ”

A “ ** _crack, crack, crack_** ” sound punctured through the howling of the snowstorm around them. Gaara gaze his gaze to both sides and saw what seemed two be over two dozen needle-shaped crystals the size of swords taking form in the air around them, all of them pointed in his direction.

‘ _Guren is getting impatient,_ ’ thought Hanzo. ‘ _The boy isn’t proving enough of a challenge for her…. She wants to move on to the main event, to Konan…. But I wonder if she’s letting the momentum of the fight go to her head…._ ’

“Gaara…,” hissed Fu worriedly.

“Stay where you are, Fu,” said Konan insistently. “Trust me, he’s got this. And besides…it looks like it’s about time he put his training to use….”

At the same moment she said this, Gaara closed his eyes and lowered his head in concentration. Guren frowned; she didn’t like how he was being so calm in such a terrifying situation. She decided to not put too much though into it as she broke the crystal blades on her arms, leaving them embedded in his gourd, and jumped out of range of the circle of hovering needles. Once she was out of the danger zone, Guren swiped her hand across the air with a furious war cry. The crystal needles flew at Gaara –

* * *

 

**_POOF!_ **

The Snow shinobi stared at the bed, their eyes wide and their jaws dropped. The first shinobi knew he had stabbed the boy directly in the heart, but the moment his blade had punctured the skin, the blonde Leaf Genin had exploded in a cloud of smoke and left the bed empty.

“A shadow clone!” his partner yelped in surprise.

“Then where did he – “

“Down here, dumbass!”

The first shinobi looked followed the sound of Naruto voice and looked down at his feet to the wooden floorboard. Before he understood what was happening, the wood paneled suddenly burst underneath him and Naruto emerged from below with his fist raised. The blonde Genin threw all his strength into a powerful uppercut that slammed into the Snow Shinobi’s chin and lifted him off the ground. The shinobi fell backwards onto Sandayu’s table and smashed it underneath his weight; the man’s head tilted sideways and his eyes had glazed over – he was knocked out.

“Big bro!” screamed his partner. The second Snow shinobi picked up the katana his partner had dropped and bravely turned toward Naruto. “You son of a – “

The second Snow shinobi crossed the room in two large steps and swung the katana at Naruto from above. In that same moment, Naruto’s hand moved like a blur as it reached to for the pouch strapped to his thigh and pulled a kunai. Naruto concentrated his chakra into the knife just like he did in training, but this time it came out the energy surrounding the blade was thin, edgy, and constantly moving; it was a perfect match to the one Konan had shown him.

Naruto swerve around and brought the blade up to meet with the enemy’s katana, and, to the Snow shinobi shock, Naruto’s kunai sliced through the sword like a hot knife through butter. The broken piece of the sword stabbed itself into the ceiling; the Snow shinobi stared up at it with his jaw dropped. This opened up an opportunity for Naruto to swing around with his left fist and smash his knuckles directly between the man’s eyes. The sound of bone cracking filled the tiny house, blood spurted from the man’s nose, and in the next instant, he was lying on top of his partner, equally unconscious. Naruto stood up with his hands on his hips, grinning proudly over his work.

“These guys are shinobi; talk about lame,” said Naruto smugly, before turning to Sandayu and helping him up. “Hey, old man, you all right? They didn’t hurt you too badly, did they?”

“No…no…I’m fine,” Sandayu grunted, leaning against Naruto as he stood up. “It’ll take a lot more than that to keep me down…. Hmm…those two caused quite a mess, but they can be easily replaced. I’m more impressed that a Genin like you actually managed to defeat a couple of experienced Shinobi, and so easily I might add. You Leaf shinobi sure are strong.”

“Nah, those guys were just weak,” said Naruto, grinning. “Once I caught them by surprise, they totally went down no problem.”

“That’s another thing I want to ask,” said Sandayu. “How did you know that these men were coming?”

“Hmm…well, it kinda happened when I woke up and saw that Konan-sensei and the others went on ahead,” said Naruto thoughtfully. “I was scrambling around trying to get dressed when I noticed a couple of suspicious-looking people out the window. They were watching the house and they were dressed like shinobi, so it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. When they started walking across the street, I created a shadow clone to pretend to be me while I snuck underneath the floor and waited for the best moment to strike. I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner, but I thought if I showed myself too early, they might flip it around on me.”

“That’s quite all right,” said Sandayu, shaking his head with some amusement. “Watch them for a minute while I go get some rope. I don’t want those two waking up a causing trouble again.”

* * *

 

Guren’s jaw dropped, Hanzo let out a low grunting noise, Fu gave a relieved sigh, and Konan smirked; all of this was because of what happened to Gaara.

Much to Guren and Hanzo’s disbelief, the Sand Genin was still standing after Guren’s crystal needle assault. He looked poised and deadly as he usually does, his arms crossed confidently across his chest as the barrier surrounding him sucked in the crystallized weapons, snapping them to pieces and absorbing them into its mass. At first, Guren thought the sand shield had come to his aid, but then she noticed something different about it through the blustery mountain winds. Instead of the usual tan color, Gaara’s sand was as black as coal and it made an audible grinding noise as it shifted around, forming a protective circle at his feet. It wasn’t until Gaara announced it that Guren truly understood why it was so different from before:

“ **Magnet Release: Iron Sand**!”

Before Guren had a moment to contemplate the strangeness of it all, Gaara snapped his gaze upon her and the Iron Sand reacted according to his silent command. Tendrils of the iron grains shot from the collection at his feet and crossed the distance between them at an alarming pace. Guren slid her hand across her opposite arms to forge a lengthy blade a crystal from her forearm, swiping it immediately at the Iron Sand. However, the crystal snapped immediately upon contact. The Iron Sand immediately consumed her outstretched limb while another tendril zipped across the ground and shot up at her feet to engulf her left leg in another cocoon. Guren gritted her teeth as she coated her entrapped limbs in crystal and created numerous spikes from them, allowing her to break free.

Guren jumped back a short distance, her arm and leg still covered in crystal, as she took a defensive stance against Gaara.

“You are surprisingly dimwitted,” said Gaara mockingly. “From here on…you’ll be the one dodging my attacks.”

Gaara shot another stream of Iron Sand at Guren, which she immediately dodged by crouching on all fours. Just as she held up her crystallized hand pointed at her opponent, the grinding noise above her head alerted her that three spikes of iron were coming down on top of her from the river of metal above. Guren rolled out of the way to dodge the iron spikes, but she failed to notice how the flow of the iron curved back around and snuck up behind her, landing a solid hit to her backside. Guren was sent flying face first into the snow a slid across the ground, shorting a short distance at Hanzo’s feet.

Hanzo didn’t seem as concerned about Guren losing and instead was watching Gaara with keen interest as the clumps of iron returned to his side.

‘ _I see…_ ,’ thought Hanzo. ‘ _So that boy has a Kekkei Genkai after all…._ ’

“Uh, Sensei, what’s up with Gaara’s sand?” Fu asked Konan. “It’s all…different.”

“That’s the Iron Sand technique,” Konan explained with a satisfactory smile. “It’s a specialized technique that can only be used by those who possess a Kekkei Genkai called Magnet Release – an advanced element that combines both Earth and Wind chakra natures. I already knew that Gaara had an affinity towards Earth-based jutsus because of his sand technique, but I wasn’t so sure about the Wind element. Though the odds were in his favor since the Magnet Release style has been passed down through the Kazekage family, just like his father, the Fourth Kazekage, and his grandfather, the Third Kazekage.”

“Oh, that kinds co – WAIT, WHAT?” Fu yelped. “Gaara’s dad is the Kazekage?”

“Oh, didn’t he mention that?” said Konan teasingly.

“That explains a lot,” said Hanzo softly. “Earlier, when he was dodging Guren’s attacks, he wasn’t just running away; he was collecting iron mineral from the mountain. Since iron is heavier than sand, I imagine it’s a lot slower than what he’s used to and required an extensive period of time to collect it all. He couldn’t just use it from the start, that’s why he was purposely buying time. He used Guren’s confidence against her.”

“Well, that’s what you get for underestimating my team,” said Konan smugly. “They may not look like much, but they are among the strongest Genin in any village. Gaara, the son of the Fourth Kazekage and the most feared shinobi in the entire Hidden Sand Village,” – the corners of Gaara’s lips twitched – “And Fu is the strongest taijutsu user I’ve ever seen and possesses an amazing amount of talent –“

“Aw, shucks,” said Fu, rubbing her head embarrassingly.

“And the other one,” Konan continued proudly, “is the dark horse of the Shinobi world, the hard-working boy that aims to become Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki.”

* * *

 

Naruto sneezed.

“You’re not getting a cold, are you?” asked Sandayu as he finished tying the final knot on their prisoners.

“I’ve been in the place for a week,” said Naruto, shivering even as he threw on his cloak. “I’m just happy I haven’t died of hypo – whatchamacallit. Anyway, what’re ya gonna do now? If a couple of Shinobi are coming to attack you, then that’s gotta mean Doto knows about you and that you’re working for Princess Gale.”

“Hmm…it seems like it, doesn’t it,” Sandayu hummed thoughtfully. “If he knows about my connection to the princess, then he must know about the rebellion as well. Doto sent his minions specifically after me, hoping that my capture would persuade the princess to surrender. That bastard. It looks like we have no choice. It’s time to rally.”

“Say what now?” said Naruto, blinking with confusion.

“Doto has now revealed his hand,” said Sandayu seriously. “Which mean the time has come for the village to stand together against his tyranny. The princess intends to kill Doto with her own hands, so we must be there to support her when the time comes. I am going to collect our allies around the village and meet the princess at Doto’s castle. Naruto – “

“I’ll go on ahead up the mountain first,” said Naruto. “I’m sure Princess Gale fine – Gaara and Konan-sensei are super strong, after all – but I don’t want them hogging all the glory. If I impress her enough, maybe the princess will make a movie about me!”

“Maybe,” said Sandayu, chuckling. “Be careful up there, Naruto. Doto is not going to give up his throne without a fight.”

“Yeah, yeah, let the guy try it,” said Naruto cockily, turning and running towards the mountain. “Don’t you know? The hero always saves the day!”

* * *

 

Hanzo eyed his opposition from across the battlefield. He took in Konan and Fu guarding Yukie off to the side and then shifted his gaze to Gaara, who was silently motioning his iron sand in a protective circle around him. And then…he started to laugh. Gaara tightened his grip on his coat sleeve, feeling a sense of ominous menace.

“Guren, do you know what this means?” Hanzo said to her. “At this rate, you’ll be defeated by your intended victim.”

“Yes…,” said Guren softly as she rose to her feet. “That means I can no longer afford to hold back, doesn’t it, Lord Hanzo.”

“You are correct, Guren,” said Hanzo slyly. “Show this boy what true power looks like.”

Guren stared through the blustery winds at Gaara with narrowed eyes as an ominous pink aura started to appear around her body. Gaara gritted his teeth; he felt a chill running down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. He could sense it – that predatory presence that gave everyone an impending sense of doom. He recognized it because it was the same type of aura he would often give of in the Sand Village that would send the villagers screaming in terror.

“It’s unfortunate for you,” said Guren, shooting him with a smug grin.

“Is that…her chakra…,” Gaara muttered to himself. “I’ve heard that there are people who are so powerful that they can make their chakra visible, but I’ve never actually seen it for myself. What is she up to….”

Guren slowly clasped her hands together into a single seal and took a single step forward. The moment her foot touched the ground, the area where she had made contact with suddenly became encased in crystal and started spreading across the battlefield. Gaara took a hesitant step back as the crystallization wave flowed underneath his feet, but felt some relief when the crystals didn’t cover him up as well. Konan, Fu, and Yukie looked equally apprehensive as the ground underneath turned to crystal as well and continued to flow over the side of the mountain as well as Doto’s castle in the background. Within moments, the entire mountain side had been transformed into one giant crystal sculpture.

Konan looked around the newly altered highland when she suddenly felt something sharp stick into her shoulder. She reached over, pulled it out quickly, and examined the foreign object. It was a snowflake, but it had been coated in pink crystal just like the rest of the mountain –

‘ _She even changed the falling snow_ ,’ Konan thought wildly. ‘ _What the hell kind of power does this girl have…_?”

“It’s not over yet,” said Guren.

She shifted her fingers around to form another seal. The sounds of “ ** _crack, crack, crack_** ” rang over the mountain as hundreds of crystals started to rise all around them. The crystals started molding themselves into familiar shapes, eventually becoming gigantic pink trees with thick glittering trunks, narrow pointed branches, and shards of crystals forming the leaves. In mere moments, Guren had transformed the entire mountainside into a giant forest of gemstone.

“ **Secret Technique: Crystal Forestation!** ” Guren’s voice shouted.

Gaara looked around the dense crystal forest feeling a little more than worried, which was highly unusual for him. He turned around toward Konan to ask if she understood what was happen, but he realized too late that the crystal forest had separated him from the rest of his team; a wall of thick crystallized tree barricaded him off from the others.

“Damn it…,” Gaara cursed. “So that’s her aim….”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Fu attempted to shatter the crystal trunks with her strongest chakra-infused kick, but she couldn’t even scratch the surface.

“Oh wow, that is some sturdy stuff,” said Fu, sounding very impressed. “I don’t think we’re getting through that.”

“I’ve never seen a jutsu like this before,” said Konan, grimacing. “The Fourth Mizukage never mentions another about Crystal Users being able to perform techniques of this high level…. Unless he didn’t know about it. This must be something new.”

“Is Gaara going to be all right?” Yukie asked in concern.

“Damn it…Fu, stay and guard the princess,” said Konan urgently. “I’m going to fly over and collect Gaara. We don’t know what we’re up against, so it would be better if we stayed in a group.”

“Okay,” Fu nodded in acknowledgement.

Konan leaned forward, sprouted the paper wings from her back, and took off towards the canopy of the crystallized forest. But just as she had reached the upper branches, she spotted a shadow out of the corner of her eyes and turned at the last possible second. The edge of the kusarigama only barely brushed her cheek without cutting the flesh, but the surprise attack did succeed in diverting her course. The paper woman was forced to flip backwards and land on a crystal branch, dispelling her wings. The kusarigama blade whipped back into the crevice between two crystal trees, and a moment later, Hanzo jumped into sight, landing on a branch opposite of Konan.

“And just where do you think you are going?” said Hanzo. “I’m your opponent, aren’t I? Wasn’t it you mission to kill me in revenge for your lover?” Konan gritted her teeth, but stayed silent. “If you’re worried about your student, don’t. It’s too late. Now that Guren has used this jutsu…even his Kekkei Genkai won’t be able to save him.”

* * *

 

Gaara edged his way into the middle of the forest clearing, the Iron Sand now floating protectively in a crossed formation around him as his eyes looked wearily from left to right.

“Are you worried, kid?” Guren’s voice echoed in a mocking tone. “Well, you should be. It’s not every day I get to use this jutsu, and everyone who has ever seen it…has died a horribly painful death. Now then…let’s get started, shall we? Get ready, because I am about to show you…my true power!”

There was a sudden rustling coming from above; Gaara looked up. The crystallized leaves were shaking restlessly, as if being blown by the winter wind, until the Sand Genin noticed that the leaves were turning their tips toward him and then started attacking him like shower of needles. Gaara commanded his Iron Sand to form a wall between him and the falling crystal, stopping them in their tracks and crushing them within its mass. But a moment later, Gaara felt a sharp pain coming from his right foot and look down. A crystal spike had shot up from the ground and speared him through his foot, smeared in his blood. Gaara removed his foot from the spike and started to set it back down again when he sensed a presence and jumped away, only just managing to avoid another spike that had appeared where he was about to step.

Gaara was forced to retreat backwards as more tiny spikes started approaching him in a straight line, and he knew it was too dangerous to remain on the ground. The Sand Genin waved his hands, compacting the Iron Sand into a small cloud, and jumped on top of it before the row of spikes could reach him. The Iron Sand managed to support his weight and keep him airborne.

He let a sigh of relief and started looking around for a way out when he felt the same dangerous presence behind him. He ripped away a piece of his Iron Sand support and formed a barrier behind him moments before a large crystal sprouted from the tree, stabbing the iron wall with enough force that it nearly pushed Gaara off. The Sand shinobi didn’t have time to recover before two large crystals sprouted from the trees on either side of him; Gaara commanded his barrier to rip in half and successfully blocked the attack, but they had gotten really close that time; they had only been a couple inches from his rib cage. But in his distraction, one of the crystallized branches snapped away from one of the trees above and dropped on Gaara from above, stabbing him in the shoulder.

“AAAAHHHH!” cried Gaara. He grabbed the crystal and ripped it painfully from his shoulder. “Damn it! Son of a - ”

He didn’t even have time to finish what he was saying before two more branches started shooting him from above. Gaara compressed his Iron Sand back together and blocked the overhead attacks, but he failed to see the crystal spike shooting from the ground below until it had stabbed itself into his thigh. Gaara gritted his teeth, trying to bite back the pain, and reshaped the Iron Sand into a half-dome barrier underneath him when several dozen crystals started shooting up from the ground like a reverse rainfall. But the crystal leaves overhead started showering from above at the same time, cutting up Gaara’s back.

Over and over again, Gaara attempted to defend himself from one of Guren’s attacks, only to have another catch him in his blind spot. He tried to defend himself from every possible angle, but unlike the sand that normally defends him automatically, the Iron Sand required him to control it directly. Gaara’s attention was split in too many directions at once trying to play defensively and he was starting to spread the Iron Sand too thin to where it couldn’t even hold off the smaller attacks. Over and over again, Gaara tried to fight her off, but he was completely overpowered by Guren’s jutsu.

* * *

 

Gaara’s painful cries could be heard from the other side of the wall; Yukie let out a horrified gasp.

“He’s in trouble!” moaned Yukie. “We’ve got to help him!”

“Easier said than done,” said Fu, turning her head up to Konan and Hanzo, who were still locked in an intense stare down.

“If you make a move,” Hanzo said to Konan, “I will kill those two.”

_‘Damn it…what the hell is going on over there_?’ Konan thought, clenching her fists in frustration. ‘ _I taught Gaara the Iron Sand hoping it would give him the necessary boost to defend himself. But I didn’t think that girl; would be this powerful. This isn’t just some ordinary Kekkei Genkai – this is something else entirely…._ ’

“Why are you still standing around!” snapped Yukie when she heard Gaara scream again. “Fu, you can still move, can’t you? Let Konan deal with Hanzo and you can go help Gaara.”

“But then that would leave you defenseless,” said Fu, looking back at her in surprise.

“I’ll be fine!” said Yukie insistently. “Just go save him!”

Fu paused for a long moment as she stared at the princess, possibly considering her command…but then she finally nodded in agreement. She started making a dash toward the crystallized tree line; Konan and Hanzo turned their heads and watched her run, but neither one made a move to intercept as they cautiously remained aware of one another. But neither of them needed to do anything. Halfway across the terrain, the Waterfall Kunoichi was suddenly stopped in her tracks as a circle of crystal pillars popped out of the ground around her in a full circle, curving unnaturally until they formed a crystal birdcage.

“The hell?” yelped Fu. With a grunt of effort, she punched one of the bars with all her might, but only succeeded in cracking the surface; a moment later, that crack was repaired. “No, no, no! Let me out of here!”

“It’s pointless,” said Hanzo. “In this environment, Guren is the master of all. Everything you see here is just an extension of her will. This battle was over the moment she cast the jutsu.”

* * *

 

Gaara had never been in a position like this before. Kneeling on one knee, covered in numerous cuts, feeling the warmth of his own blood running down his skin. He briefly wondered if this was how all his victims felt before they died…. He was pulled from his though when a set of calm footsteps entered earshot and looked up. Through the narrow gaps in the crystal trees, Guren emerged with her smug grin still present, one hand on her hip and cocking her head in an arrogant fashion.

“Oh, not so tough now, are we, little man?” said Guren mockingly.

Growling angrily under his breath, Gaara threw his hand forward and commanded his iron sand to strike. Guren remained calm and composed as she made a quick nodding gesture with her chin, and a row of crystal spikes shot up from the ground, spearing the cloud of iron and scattering the grains.

“Your Iron Sand trick is pretty strong, but it comes with its own weaknesses,” said Guren. “Besides the fact that it doesn’t work automatically like your shield of sand, iron has a heavier density than sand, which means its twice as strong, but twice as slow. And you can’t call up any more minerals because I’ve crystallized the entire mountain, which means what you have now is all that you can use.” She held out her right arm and created a long crystal blade. “As fun as it was to mess with you, Lord Hanzo needs me soon, and I can’t waste time on weak brats like you.”

Gaara tried to push himself back up to his feet, but he wasn’t used to being in pain and his knees gave out, dropping him forward on all fours. His breathing was getting heavy, his vision becoming blurred. Hesitantly, he looked over his shoulder hoping to see Konan and Fu coming to his aid, but the crystal trees blocked any chance they had of reaching him.

“Expecting your friends to save you?” Guren scoffed, walking slowly up to him. “Don’t get your hopes up. My crystals are unbreakable. Nothing can get through – “

**_CRASH!_ **

Guren gasped and stopped in her tracks immediately as the sound of breaking crystal reached her ears. She turned on her heel and looked up at one of the trees above, watching the gemstone shatter as something came through. It was moving too fast to see, but Guren could have sworn it looked like…a kunai? Guren was taken aback and failed to move out of the way of the kunai’s path in time, allowing the ninja tool to cut deeply across her left cheek. A white-hot flash of pain flared in Guren’s face; the Crystal User screamed in bloodcurdling agony that it even caused Konan and Hanzo on the opposite side of the tree line to jump. Guren dispelled her blade and stumbled a few feet away, holding her face, before she dropped to her knees.

There was a painful few seconds of silence before Guren pulled her hands away and realized that her palms were stained red; the blood was flowing profusely from the cut that stretched from the top of her lip to under her left eye. She touched the cut with her thumb, wincing from the sensation. It wasn’t just a simple scratch – a long piece of her flesh had been ripped away; it was going to leave a nasty scar. Guren’s breath quickened as an overwhelming sense of rage boiled deep in her stomach. Growling like a savage animal, she flipped around to her feet and scream:

“Get out here, you bastard! Show yourself so I can kill you!”

And as if on command, a large plume of smoke suddenly exploded across the clearing. Gaara didn’t need to guess who it was; there was only one person who would use a pointlessly flashy entrance –

‘ _That idiot…trying to show off now of all times…_ ,’ thought Gaara.

“The dark horse of the Shinobi world,” Guren said sourly, reciting Konan’s earlier words. “The hard-working boy that aims to become Hokage.”

And thus he appeared through the smoke, clad in eye-gougingly hideous orange, a foxy grin on his lips –

“Naruto Uzumaki has finally arrived!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do want to apologized for taking so long to get this up. With school and work distracting me, I actually forgot about this story for a while and didn’t remember it until I noticed that people were still favoriting and following it (thanks for that, by the way.) I know it’s been a while, but I’m starting to get in a good position where I will have more time to work on this. I’m not promising something like once a week, but I am determined to see this through. So please be patient with me.


	12. Naruto Uzumaki Joins the Fight

The mountaintop overlooking the Hidden Snow Village had gone silent, save for the overzealous screams of one hyperactive knuckleheaded shinobi. Everyone had paused in their steps; Konan and Hanzo stood above in the treetops in the crystallized forest, looking back in the direction the yells had come; Fu was clinging to the bars of her mineral prison looking flabbergast, and Yukie stood in the far back of the scene with an expression of mixed concern and confusion.

On the opposite side of the wall of crystal trees, Gaara was kneel on all fours, short of breath while Guren was on her knees, trying to hold back the waterfall of blood that was spilling from the fresh new scar that adorned her face. Both of them were leering across the battlefield as the smokescreen dissipated, unveiling the boy in the hideously bright orange attire, grinning from ear-to-ear –

"Naruto Uzumaki has arrived!" Naruto declared proudly. "Now that I've come, there nothing for you to fear!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Guren hissed.

"What the hell took you so long?" asked Gaara.

"Don't you know?" said Naruto smugly. "The hero of the story generally appears in this kind of situation when all hope seems lost and takes out the enemy in no time!"

Despite his proclamation, not everyone seemed to share in his opinion:

' _That brat was the one who tricked me, right?_ ' thought Hanzo. ' _So how can he be so dim…?_ '

' _You damn idiot, you wasted your opportunity talking too much!_ ' thought Gaara.

' _What is wrong with that boy?_ ' Konan thought exasperatedly. ' _Making such a conspicuous entrance like that…. There's no point if you don't catch the enemy off guard!_ "

"You…," Guren growled in a low, gravely tone, slowly moving to stand, still holding her bloodstained cheek, and glaring at him. "You stupid, ugly midget…. I should have killed you in that forest when I had the chance…."

"Yeah, and I bet you're regretting it now," said Naruto with a wicked snicker as he crossed his fingers. "All right, here I go!  **Shadow Clone –** "

In that split-second of time, Guren narrowed her eyes furiously and moved her right foot a few inches forward. Naruto never had the chance to complete his technique before a wall of  _very_ sharp crystals jumped out of the ground and fell on top of him. Naruto instantly lost his composure and started to flail, not even realizing that he could have moved out of the way of danger. Fortunately, he was saved at the last second as a wall of pure iron suddenly formed between him and crystal spikes, shattering them into fragments. Guren growled under her breath and turned around, finding Gaara, still short on breath, raising himself to one knee with his hand outstretched towards Naruto.

"So you still have a little fight left in you after all," Guren said to Gaara. "I guess that's good. I wouldn't have wanted to kill you too quickly."

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, Naruto?" Gaara yelled angrily, purposely ignoring Guren and making the orange clad shinobi jump. "What kind of an idiot would attempt to cast a jutsu directly in front of an opponent? How can you be so smart in come up with tricks and battle strategies, but stupid in everything else?"

"hey, that's not fair!" Naruto whined.

"The essence of a shinobi is deception; how you deceive your opponent!" shouted Gaara. "Even casting one jutsu, you avoid the eyes of your opponents, catch them off balance, and outsmart them! This was one of Konan-sensei's first lessons!"

"I know that…," muttered Naruto.

"And yet the way you made your entrance earlier," said Gaara exasperatedly, "that's just you becoming a target…."

"Ah, shut up, you stupid know-it-all!" Naruto snapped, gesturing an accusing finger at him. "I went to all the trouble of coming to your rescue, so don't go complaining now! I even got a hit on her, which is probably more than you did!"

"And you could have killed her in one shot if you weren't so busy showing off!" roared Gaara.

"Nani?" screamed Naruto.

* * *

On the other side of the crystal wall, Konan and Hanzo could hear everything that was going on (it wasn't hard considering both boys were screaming at the top of their lungs). Konan pressed her face into her palm and shook her head.

' _Naruto's probably the only person in the world that can aggravate Gaara enough to make him lose focus,_ ' thought Konan. She lowered her hand and eyed Hanzo, who had been looking over his shoulder the whole time. ' _Well, at least I know they're both still alive. But what concerns me more than that is…._ '

"If you're worried that I might suddenly go over and aid Guren, don't," said Hanzo suddenly without looking back at Konan. "She doesn't need my help to kill a couple of brats. If anything, she would probably get mad at me and say I was interfering. That girl can be a little too strong willed at time; it becomes troublesome in dire situations when she needs help, but doesn't ask for it."

"Sounds like your worried," said Konan.

"A little, maybe," said Hanzo. "I told you before, Konan, I'm not the same person I used to be, though I don't expect you to believe me."

"It's hard to forget how you betrayed your own country and ideals," Konan spat. "You turned your back on everything you taught."

"I know…," said Hanzo in a slow, soft voice, finally turning back around to face Konan. "But the time for dwelling in the past is long over…. We both have our duties, and by unfortunate coincidence, we happen to be on opposite sides. So before you get any ideas about helping your students, just remember the girl from the Waterfall is still trapped in Guren's prison. If you step away, even for a moment, then I will kill the princess."

Konan's hands clenched and she gritted her teeth, ' _It's true…. If I move away from here and head towards Naruto and Gaara, Hanzo will kill Kazahana. I asked Fu to guard her because her taijutsu and toxin immunity would have allowed her to hold off Hanzo long enough for me to get back if I ever got past. But now that she's trapped in that crystal, which appears to be able to regenerate, there's no way she can protect the princess long enough for me to help the others. Hanzo has me cornered…._ '

"How about it?" said Hanzo. "Let's just see how those children fight against each other?

* * *

Returning to the fight between the Shinobi duo and the Crystal Kunoichi, Gaara finally managed to stand up straight on his own two feet, though his body felt much heavier than he was used to. He called the iron sand over from Naruto and dragged it all the way back to him, commanding the metallic minerals to float freely around him; Guren did nothing to stop it and instead was glaring intently at Naruto, her hand still holding her cheek, even though the blood had stopped flowing.

' _This girl, she holds us at a complete disadvantage,_ ' thought Gaara. ' _She can manipulate anything that is covered in crystal and can attack from multiple directions at once. And it seems like she doesn't need to focus in order to maintain the structure, or else the forest would have collapsed the moment Naruto's kunai cut her open. My Sand Shield is too weak and my Iron Sand is too slow to deal with everything. Right now, the only thing working in my favor is having Naruto in my corner…. But…._ '

"Hey, you!" Naruto shouted, pointing at Guren in a challenging fashion. "You might have beaten a wimp like Gaara, but I'm going to knock you out in a flash!"

Guren finally moved her hand away from her face and revealed the deep, gaping scar that curved from the top of her lip to the corner of her left eye, half her face caked in dried blood.

"Don't think because you managed to get one sneak attack in that you have a chance of winning," said Guren with all the hostility she could mister. "It's like your friend said, deception and catching your opponent off guard are the essence of what it means to be Shinobi. Now that you've lost the element of surprise, you can't win."

"He might not…," Gaara murmured, "but I can…."

The Sand Genin swiped his hand and commanded the Iron Sand to fly toward Guren with a pointed head. The Crystal User didn't look over, but she slid her foot back across the surface of the crystallized ground and summoned three walls of thick crystals between them. The Iron Sand smashed through the first barrier with ease and managed to pierce a hole through the second wall, but when it reached the third barrier, the Iron Sand was stopped completely. Gaara gaped, stunned by how effortlessly she managed to ward off his attack. The crystal walls soon fell afterward and Guren finally turned her eyes on Gaara

"I haven't forgotten about you," said Guren. "You could have spared yourself a few more minutes of peace if you had just stayed down quietly. But it looks like it won't work that way…. Fine, I'll kill you first…."

Right before Naruto's eyes, Guren started sinking into the crystallized floor as if she were melting into the mineral itself.

"H-Hey!" yelled Naruto.

"You stay right where you are, stupid," said Guren as he shoulders started dissolving into the ground. "I'll kill you afterwards."

A moment later, she completely vanished; the surface of the crystal just as clear and unmarked as ever.

Gaara cursed under his breath as he started looking around for any sign of where she might have gone. The Sand Shinobi was feeling largely paranoid, his eyes shooting back and forth across the forest so fast he started to go a little cross-eyed. With Guren's ability to remotely control everything in the forest, that means she could attack from every direction at once. With his limited supply of Iron Sand and no way of collecting more, Gaara knew he was backed into a corner.

" _I can't sense any of her chakra or her killer intent,_ ' thought Gaara. ' _The crystals – they must be masking her presence. So many places she could attack from…where –_ '

"Looking for me?"

Gaara's entire body froze, and it had nothing to do with the cold. Before he could so much as blink, Guren suddenly popped out of the ground directly behind him with a long blade of crystal sprouting from her forearm. The Sand Shinobi spun around on his heel at the same moment Guren took a swipe at him from the right side. Though he had been caught off guard, Gaara did manage to gesture the Iron Sand to his protection by curling is fingers inward, creating a solid barrier between them that shattered Guren's crystal blade. It had seemed like Gaara had been saved for the moment and was even in a position to counterattack, but clenched her fist and, without warning, a thin spike of crystal suddenly sprung from the ground at a diagonal angle and pierced the Sand Shinobi through he right side of his abdomen.

Gaara cried out in pain and even spat out blood, but Guren offered him no leniency. With Gaara's concentration broken, the Iron Sand lost is shape; Guren coated her right fist in crystal and smashed her knuckles through the sand before it connected with a solid blow to Gaara's jaw. The sand user was thrown to the crystallized ground and sent him sliding across the smooth surface several feet away, leaving him lying flat on his back. Gaara was in more pain that he had ever felt in his entirely life – his stomach was punctured and the chilly wind burned every cut on his body – but he refused to stay down. Weakly, almost stubbornly so, Gaara forced himself to be lifted by his elbows into a raised sitting position and leered at Guren.

"Gaara!" Naruto cried worriedly. ' _What…what was that just now? She didn't just break Gaara's shield…but she made those crystals come out of nowhere and beat him up. How is she doing this? Does it have something to do with all these weird crystals? Wait, Konan-sensei said that she was a Crystal User, right? So then this must all be a part of her jutsu? But if that's true…then how is she controlling it all at once…._ '

Guren made no move against him as Gaara cautiously started to stand up again. He watched helplessly as the Crystal User sank into the surface of the crystallized floor and vanished out of sight once again. But in spite of his newest injuries, something occurred to Gaara in that moment.

' _Her attack was different this time,_ ' he thought. ' _Before, she was just attacking from a distance and letting the environment do all the work for her. She still did the same things by causing this injury, but it wasn't until after she had tried to come at me at close range…and it wasn't until he first attack failed and the crystal on her arm had shattered…. Is it possible that she can only use physical attacks and environment attacks separately? But if that's true, then why didn't she try hiding in the forest again and attacking from a distance where it was safe? And why is she only going after us one at a time? Why doesn't she attack me and Naruto simultaneously? …Unless there's some other reason…like she can't…."_

"Do you really have the time to be thinking?"

Gaara gasped; the voice came directly from his right side. He was only able to catch the briefest of glances to spy Guren emerging from one of the tree trunks, her entire arm covered in pink crystals that all sharped together into a single point. Guren was already within the Sand Genin defensive range, leaving him with no chance of reacting in time –

' _Crap! I've been caught!_ ' thought Gaara.

The Crystal User stabbed her pointed blade toward Gaara's neck, only inches away from breaking skin. But at the last second, a kunai shot from out of nowhere and somehow managed to shatter Guren's crystal needle before it could land its targets. What's more, the kunai wasn't a normal blade either – it was chakra infused, just like the one that had given her the new scar on her face.

Alerted by his wild battle cry, Guren's shot her attention skyward as Naruto flew at her from above wielding two chakra-infused kunai like a pair of swords. The Crystal User gritted her teeth in annoyance and raised her hand sharply into the air; a long column of crystal sprouted from the ground toward Naruto like a spear. Naruto incredibly, did not panic, but waited until he was within arm's length before stabbing one kunai into the point of the crystal, shattering the entire thing to pieces, and then threw his other kunai ahead. Guren effortlessly dodged the knife – she could hear it break the ground behind her – and started to formed at leasta dozen crystal spikes in her arm when she was suddenly hit from the side by what felt like an entire like speeding bus.

Guren was thrown into a tree and slumped down to the roots, holding her side; she could feel at least one or two of her ribs broken. She shot a nasty looked at Gaara, who was recalling the loose grains of iron back to his side just as Naruto landed next to him, grinning that foxy grin of his and rubbing his nose haughtily.

"Looks like that's two times I saved your butt, Gaara," said Naruto cockily. "You're probably gonna owe me a hundred favors by the time this is over."

"That first attack was just a cheap shot that didn't even get used properly because you had to be a stupid show off and give your position away," said Gaara bluntly, making Naruto flinch. "And second of all, I didn't need any saving…. I was drawing her into a false sense of security so that I could lure her into my trap. But then you had to go a ruin it because you're an idiot…."

"Oh yeah, then what was that pause for?" said Naruto in a superior tone; Gaara could actually feel the vain throbbing in his forehead. "Hah! You're totally lying! I totally saved your butt!"

"Shut up!" snapped Gaara furiously. "If you're a real Shinobi, you should act more cautiously! You don't go running around screaming like a howler monkey! You sneak around the enemy and take them out when their guard is down! Instead you gave away your position again and wasted another opportunity to take the enemy out!"

"Oi! You don't get to be angry at me after I've saved your life!" howled Naruto.

"You didn't save anything! The enemy is still standing!" roared Gaara.

"No, she's down! Look at her!" yelled Naruto, pointing at Guren.

"Her justu is still up – she's not finished, moron!"

"Who're you calling moron, moron!"

* * *

On the opposite side of the wall of trees, everyone was sweat dropping; they could hear the back and forth between the two boys echoing all over the mountain. Konan pinched the bridge of her nose; Hanzo looked utterly dumbfounded and had no idea how to respond; Yukie's jaw was dropped and her eye was twitching; Fu smacked her head against one of the crystal bars exasperatedly.

"You know, it's kinda funny to get this reaction out of Gaara," Fu muttered to herself, "but couldn't they have done it when we aren't fighting for our lives." She lifted her head and looked at the bar that her thick head had cracked…and it wasn't regenerating. "Huh? It's not fixing itself…. I wonder…."

"That's just about what you would expect when you pair those to together," said Konan with a tired sigh in the trees above. "It's like a  _tsukkomi_ and  _boke_ act. Well… at least Naruto hasn't gone and made everything worse like I expected him to. By the sound of it, it sounds like those two are actually working well together. Maybe it was a good idea to match them together…."

' _Damn it, Guren, this is why you shouldn't have played around with them for too long,_ ' thought Hanzo, tightening his grip on her kusarigama until his knuckles popped. ' _This technique isn't meant to be used against multiple opponents spread throughout the area of effect. But now you're fighting those two over there while trying to support me over here…. Damn it! I need to kill the princess soon, before they discover Guren's weakness…._ '

* * *

"I don't have time to argue with you," Gaara growled irritably, turning away pointedly. "We should hurry up and take out the enemy before she can counter."

"Hey, you can't just change the subject because you're losing!" snapped Naruto accusingly.

"I wasn't – you know what? It doesn't even matter," said Gaara shaking his head and turned back to Guren, who had gotten back to her feet, still holding her ribs. "You should consider surrendering right now. You've taken heavy damage from both of us, and you're outnumbered."

"I'm not the only one hurting, sand boy," hissed Guren. "This isn't a problem. I can take out the two of you and then go help Lord Hanzo."

"Well, what about if it isn't just two?" said Naruto, crossing his fingers into a familiar sign. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** "

Multiple clouds of smoke exploded in the surrounding area, almost choking everyone present as more than twenty blurs jumped into the air in what could only be described as a "nightmare of disgusting orange". Though he didn't appreciate the smoke cloud clogging his lungs, Gaara watched the small platoon of shadow clones with a discerning eye. If there was one thing you could count on with his spamming technique, it was the Naruto made it really easy for Gaara to observe the enemy from a distance.

Simultaneously surprised and horrified by the amount of blonde shinobi in ratty jumpsuits, Guren quickly hopped out of the way as a group of four swarmed her position. She hadn't even touched the ground yet before another trio of clones charged at her from the side; Guren formed a long blade of crystal from her left wrist and spun around in the air, cutting the group in a diagonal angle that made them disappear into smoke.

Guren landed safely in a kneeling position as the crystal swords shattered from her wrist. At the same time, two more clones came running at her from the from with high-pitched yells that made any attempt at a surprise attack pointless. Guren swiped her hand through the air and a sharpened pillar of crystal suddenly sprouted from the nearby tree and impaled them together, forcing them to disappear as well. The crystal spike melted back into the tree as another group of Naruto clones jumped on her from above, once again making any chance of catching her off guard pointless since they were screaming their heads off. Calmly as she could, Guren raised both her hands to the air and brought them down with a loud grunt of effort. The leaves of the crystal trees rained down over the shadow clones, slicing them like a shower of a thousand tiny knives, until they were forced to retreat into puffs of smoke; the leaves, naturally, avoided Guren and smashed on the ground.

As one more shadow clone started coming at her from the front, Guren effortlessly dispelled it was a quick spike from the ground. However, she failed to realize that one Naruto clone had snuck up on her from behind in all the confusion until he jumped on her and latched his arms and legs around, locking Guren's arms into place. From his place next to the real Naruto, he was surprised that Guren didn't immediately impale him with her crystals, but instead flailed around trying to throw him off. Then he heard the familiar  _ **crack**_ of the crystals as the pillar that had impaled the last shadow clone shattered not too far away. Almost immediately after, a curved barb of crystal ripped through the back of Guren's clothes, impaling the Naruto clone in the stomach and forcing him to vanish.

Gaara let out a gasp of realization as he watched Guren, panting and sweating from exhaustion, as the barb shattered from her back. The real Naruto growled in annoyance.

"Stupid…," he muttered, before pointing a finger at Guren and shouting, "Don't get cocky just because you got lucky! I'm only getting warmed up! Next we're gonna – "

"Naruto, hold on a minute," said Gaara suddenly, making Naruto stumble. "I think I understand a little bit out her power."

"Huh? Nani?" said Naruto blinked. "Whatdya mean? She uses crystal jutsus, duh!"

"It's more than that," said Gaara seriously. "At first, we all thought she was just using a Kekkei Genkai, but it's a lot more complicated than that. I had my suspicions from the beginning, but I now realize it isn't a Kekkei Genkai…but a Kekkei Tota."

"Kekkei…what?" asked Naruto, tilting his head in confusion. "Did you just make that up?"

"The Kekkei Tota is real, Naruto," said Gaara. "You already know – if you listened to Konan-sensei – that Kekkei Genkai exist by merging two of the five natural chakra natures together to create a new advanced nature. The Kekkei Tota is a step above that, which combines three chakra natures at once to create an even more powerful chakra nature than a Kekkei Genkai. It explains why she is able to use a jutsu powerful enough not only to cover the entire mountain in crystal, but can also affect the weather itself."

"So…she's way more powerful than us, is that what your saying?" asked Naruto, growling at the mere thought.

"No, not at all," said Gaara softly. "In fact, it's just the opposite. In her current state, she's actually weaker than us."

"Nani?" blurted Naruto; Guren hissed and clenched her teeth.

"You weren't here when it happened," said Gaara calmly, "but when she and I were facing each other one-on-one, I was utterly helpless against her. And when you appeared, her attention was divided between the two of us, and I get the sense that, without us realizing it, she was helping Hanzo on the other side of the wall." And as he suspected, Guren flinched at the accusation, confirming it to be true. "I realize now that she doesn't have complete control over her Kekkei Tota. With her attention divided into three ways, her power has become significantly less than what it was minutes ago. She's stretching herself too thin, and can't use as much of her power as she would like to, which is why she has only been using one attack at a time."

' _Damn it…he was able to realize that after watching me for a few minutes,_ ' thought Guren. She realized that her hand was shaking and had to hold it with the other hand to stop. ' _It's true. If I wasn't distracted trying to help Lord Hanzo on the other side, I would enough power to take them on together. But as long as that girl from the Waterfall is on the other side, Lord Hanzo is in danger…. I had hoped to kill the boy from the Sand before heading over to deal with her myself…but now…._ '

She was brought out of her thoughts as Gaara, Naruto, and his remaining shadow clones stepped up. Guren flinched and took a hesitant step backwards. She looked between her opponents. With Gaara's iron sand and Naruto's clone spamming, she was significantly outmatched without her full power. Gaara took another step ahead of the orange army, staring Guren straight in the eye.

"This is the end…," said Gaara coldly. "This is where you will die…."

And Guren believed him. In her mind, she thought it was over…. But she held on to hope that, somehow, Lord Hanzo would come to her rescue again…. Just like he did before….

* * *

Her mind flashed back to that horrible night when the men had come for her, only a child who hadn't even reached puberty. She had been stripped naked and forced to her knees on the cold, muddy ground, barely visible through the faint mist. Her hands were tied so painfully; she ropes cut off all the feeling in her fingers and they turned an unhealthy shade of purple. The men hidden in the shadows were shouting at her like she had done something wrong, which, from as far as Guren could remember, she hadn't. But they didn't care – her very existence was justified for punishment.

One of the shadowy men stepped up holding his axe in a way so that Guren knew what was coming to her. He raised the weapon overhead – Guren closed her eyes in anticipation of the blow –

But it never came –

Tentatively, Guren opened her eyes just in time to see her would-be killer fall forward on the ground, a large cut sliced across his throat and small river of blood spilling out. And one by one, the bodies started falling around her, each carrying a vital wound, until there was only one man left standing. A strange old man who looked largely out of place in the Land of Water looked at her with the strangest eyes – this didn't have any hate in them….

Her walked over and kneed in front of her; Guren gasped and closed her eyes, expecting him to punch her like the others did. But instead, she felt his hands – rugged and scarred, but gentle – wrap around her wrists and ripped the ropes apart like they were tiny threads. Guren let out a shaky breath, clenching and stretching her fingers to regain feeling in them. Then she felt his hand on top of her head – once again, it was rugged, yet gentle at the same time –

"Are you all right?" asked Hanzo kindly. "How could people even think of harming a child so young…though I suppose that sounds hypocritical coming from me, considering what I have done…. Hmm…where are you're parents? Were they among them? They didn't harm you too much, did they? I…huh?"

Hanzo stopped what he was doing, pausing in place as he stared at Guren with wide eyes…

She was crying…but she wasn't sad….

* * *

Guren's mind reeled back to the present, now ever more aware of her current situation. Gaara and the Naruto army had formed an inescapable circle around her, giving her no chance of running for it…. But the thing was, Guren had no intention of running. She clenched her fists and locked her jaw as she leered at Gaara, who seemed subtly surprised by Guren's sudden determination.

"You know, when I was little, I had never thought about becoming a kunoichi," said Guren. "I was born with a Kekkei Tota – a rare one-in-a-million power that rivals the Kages – but it brought me nothing but pain and misery from the moment I was conceived. I hated myself; I thought I was a monster, because that's what everyone told me" – she hadn't noticed, but both Naruto eyes softened slightly – "I was hated simply for being born…but is still wanted to love, even though everyone wanted me dead.

"But then, I met Lord Hanzo, and suddenly I didn't see myself as a monster any more. So that's why, even against you, I won't back down. This is the battleground that connects each of us to our dreams. I, for the sake of my dream, and you, for the sake of your dream, will fight until only one of us is left standing…. I want to protect the man I love…. I work for the sake of that man, I fight for that man, and I want to make that man's dream a reality – that is my dream! For the sake of that dream, I will kill you…even if it costs me my life!"

Gaara was unmoved by Guren's passion-filled speech as he moved into a defensive position with his Iron Sand, and the army of Naruto clones drew their kunai, infusing the blades with wind chakra. Guren stretched out her arms with a determined look in her eyes, calling forth nearly a dozen curved blades from underneath her skin on each arm.

As the howling mountain winds blew in their ears, they knew their battle was coming to its climax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a little more exposition in this one. Since Guren's power is largely unexamined other than it being related to earth-style jutsu and is the most versatile nature in the entire series, I took some liberties with how to describe her power. As it turns out, Guren's Crystal Release is a Kekkei Tota that comes as a combination of three elements as one (in this case, earth, water, and fire seem most likely due to their role in how crystals are formed naturally). Of course, Guren is still young and inexperienced like Naruto and the others, so she doesn't entirely have the kind of range and power that she would like. Like anyone else, she can't divide her attention into multiple places at once, so her Crystal Forest technique is really only good for when they are all in one place, but she only realizes her mistake when Naruto comes in and ruins her plans.
> 
> I also threw in the monster comment and about her past because I thought it might be something Naruto could sympathize with, but Gaara obviously doesn't care.
> 
> However, as much as I'm sure you all want to watch Naruto, Gaara, and Fu finish their fight, we will be going away from them in the next chapter. Instead, we will be focusing on the girls' side of the battle in their fight against Hanzo. I won't be like Kishimoto and completely disregard the female cast; all the females in Naruto had their potential squandered and reduced to mostly background support characters. This will give me a perfect excuse to expand on Fu's abilities since she has so far been just a blunt hammer for Naruto and Gaara's tactics.


End file.
